A member of the State Duma opposed the section on “SVO” in history textbooks

Oleg Smolin, a deputy of the State Duma from the Omsk region, spoke out against the inclusion of a section on the war in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in school history textbooks. Smolin wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

According to Smolin, “so far, all attempts to include the most recent events in the history textbook have ended unsuccessfully.” According to the deputy, “it will be possible to give an objective assessment only after the end of the events.” The last historical period begins on February 24, 2022, Smolin wrote. Ego can be “marked in a history textbook”, but it cannot be included in “historical conceptions”, according to the member of the State Duma from the CPRF.

In February 2022, Oleg Smolin doubted the need for military action by Russia on the territory of Ukraine. In particular, he expressed doubt that the so-called “military operation” in the Donbass is capable of achieving the goal of “demilitarization” of Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about in his televised address. According to Smolin, if the military actions in Ukraine “do not achieve the set goals, the payment of the people for this decision will be excessive.”

Before the start of the war, Smolin voted against the ratification of the treaties of friendship and peace with the Luhansk People’s Republic. However, he later stated that he accidentally “hit the sensor.”

• A new history textbook for the 11th grade has appeared in Russia, which will enter schools by September 2024. One of the authors of the textbook was the adviser to the president, Vladimir Medinsky, and the section on the war in Ukraine actually repeats the main theses of Russian state propaganda. The textbook says that “SVO” brought together Russian society, “people of different ages and professions.” Ukraine is called an “ultranationalist state”, in which any dissent is “harshly persecuted”, “opposition is prohibited”, “everything Russian is declared hostile”.
• In the summer of 2022, Smolin spoke out against the new version of the law on “foreign agents”. He stated that the new law “presupposes a serious defeat in the rights of not only those who are recognized as foreign agents, but also those who are under foreign influence.” At the same time, according to Smolin, no one can say for sure what “foreign influence” is.