A history textbook with a section on the war in Ukraine has been published in Russia

The Minister of Education, Sergey Kravtsov, and the former Minister of Culture, and the current assistant to the President of Russia, Vladimir Medinsky, presented a new history textbook for high school students. It will be taught on September 1. Photos of the textbook chapters were published by RBC.

On August 2, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Kravtsov stated that the 11th grade textbook reflected the most important events, including the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, the causes and course of the “special military operation” (as the Russian authorities call the war against Ukraine), as well as “the entry “in Russia’s “new regions” – Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian troops.

The entire history from 1970 to 2000 has been rewritten in the textbook, the general history section has been shortened and the parts about Asia, Africa and Latin America have been expanded. There are 17 paragraphs in the chapter on the war in Ukraine. They repeat many statements of Russian official propaganda related to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Here are some quotes from the new Russian history textbook for high school students:

• “The main beneficiary of the Ukrainian conflict was the United States. They managed to impose their expensive gas and other resources on Europe. The United States is determined to fight “to the last Ukrainian”.
• “Ukraine is an ultra-nationalist state. Today, any dissenting opinion in Ukraine is harshly persecuted, opposition is prohibited, everything Russian is declared hostile. All these so-called sanctions—it is important to understand—are absolutely illegal. They violate all norms of international law… The West has stolen the total assets of the Russian state, stored in their banks, for a total sum of more than 300 billion dollars.“

The textbook also mentions the law on so-called foreign agents. “Be vigilant. Think: why, why, and why do these or other “oppositionists”, “opinion leaders”, “popular bloggers” “produce news”… And then you will not become victims of cheap manipulations”, – urge the authors of the manual for schoolchildren .

According to the Russian Minister of Education, such a grant is necessary “to fight against the division of nations and the spread of mistrust between people.” Among the main advantages of the new allowance, Kravtsov noted its cheapness. The cost of the textbook is 849 rubles, which is 20% cheaper than the previous version.

The textbook was written by Vladimir Medinsky, scientific supervisor of the Institute of Universal History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Chubaryan, and rector of MGIMO, Anatoly Torkunov.

• A year ago, the Secretary of the General Council of “United Russia” and the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, Andrey Turchak, announced that Russia would publish a “proper history textbook” that would include chapters on the war in Ukraine.

• In May, “Sota” published photos of the chapter of a new textbook on the history of Russia for 10-11th grades, dedicated to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the preceding events. The text does not describe the course of events, but their interpretation by Russian propaganda. In it, in particular, it is asserted that it was not Russia that attacked Ukraine, but Ukraine allegedly became a threat to Russia. The authors of the textbook are State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov and adviser to the director of the FSO, Sergey Devyatov.

• Against the background of the war with Ukraine, state propaganda among children became more active in Russia. In schools, the school week begins with the singing of the national anthem and the raising of the flag, mandatory classroom hours “Talks about the important” have been introduced, during which children are told about a special military operation – that’s how the Russian authorities officially call the war against Ukraine. A course of initial military training is being formed for them, a new pro-state structure “Movement of the First” has been created, and the work of military-patriotic associations has been intensified.