Is the Unified State Exam (USE) a good or bad thing?

The Unified State Exam is still a lottery, like any test. It doesn't always accurately reflect real knowledge. Moreover, the human factor has not been eliminated. And admitting students to universities based on the results of the Unified State Exam is complete nonsense. We need to look for not just a walking encyclopedia, but a thinking person.

AlexeyPunk, If a person is completely clueless, no exam will make them start thinking. Whether it's oral or a test.

And any exam is a lottery (even an oral one). Right now, I'm studying, but I'm thinking, it would be great if I got the question "The Agrarian Question in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries," and not some revolutionary movement that I might not even have time to read about...

On the other hand, oral exams encourage the development of speaking skills.

Again... but aren't you asking too much from an oral exam? Or rather, who told you that it will definitely develop speaking skills? I (and anyone else), believe me, have seen many people taking oral exams, both in school and at university. So, if a person, let's just say, isn't brilliant and doesn't care about these exams at all... and he only uses two words in communication - then this is a hopeless case. No exams will help here. You need to learn to speak much earlier, not during the exam. And a lot depends on the person himself, and on the parents as well. School can't turn a complete idiot into a genius, but it still manages to help some of them... unfortunately.