I have never flown any Russian aircraft but I have flown with one Russian student, but that doens't make me an expert by any means.
Under the "Russian" system (read up to 1982) pilots were selected, as in the "Party" selected who was eligible.
Almost all civilian pilots would be former military so in the civilian system they would still fly as such:
Commander, co-pilot, radio operator, Navigator/bombardier, Mechanic/Flight engineer. That makes a crew of 5.
The Eastern bloc airlines all used to be government or state airlines (flag carriers) which means cost was not really an primary concern.
Western airplanes went to a 2 man crew to get rid of one salary in the operating cost.
Russian is one of the official ICAO languages so English was not taught.
For Commercial flights to the West a radio operator who spoke English was used.