I think so. It was surprising how few Russians spoke English, even in the major cities. It would've been much more difficult to engage with locals without my knowledge of Russian—which I'd say is at a 4th-grade level.
Younger people (school grads and older) typically have better English than the older ones. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a translator app on your mobile.
Good to know. I live in Colombia, and the same is true here with respect to Spanish.