A new textbook has appeared in Russia, according to which Russian high school students will begin studying history from September. This week, it was presented by Vladimir Medinsky, an advisor to the President of Russia and one of the authors of the textbook, and Sergei Kravtsov, the Minister of Education. During a press conference dedicated to the presentation of the new unified textbook on world history and Russian history for senior classes, Medinsky openly declared the rewriting of history. This cynical revelation by Medinsky contradicts the favorite technique of Russian propaganda: "Everyone is rewriting history, both in the West, in Ukraine, and in other post-Soviet countries. Only Russia preserves history in its original form."
It's worth noting that Vladimir Putin demanded the creation of a unified textbook 10 years ago, in February 2013. According to him, "young people do not understand the country they live in and do not feel connected to previous generations" because there is no unified textbook with a properly balanced patriotic view of history. This idea has been repeatedly criticized by professional historians, as from the perspective of modern science, it is impossible to unambiguously interpret any historical fact. However, the totalitarian Russian state does not need school graduates to develop historical thinking. The main task is to explain why everything the current authorities do is right and necessary, and any doubts are unacceptable. The concept of a unified textbook is very convenient to use - it is much easier to control than dozens of different publications. For example, it is easy to quickly remove an inconvenient figure that was once considered heroic from the pages of the textbook or rename a country that casts a shadow on the achievements of the great nation. The same set of propaganda clichés can be heard on state TV from Soloviev, Simonyan, and even Putin himself. Interestingly, at a certain point, this textbook completely stops talking about Russian history. Its authors devote almost all their attention to events happening in another country - Ukraine.
Among the recent chapters of the Russian history textbook, there are sections titled "Ukrainian Neo-Nazism," "The 2014 Ukrainian Revolution," "The Return of Crimea," "The Fate of Donbass," "Ukraine - a Neo-Nazi State." The authors of the textbook were absolutely not interested in the events that were taking place in Russia at that time.
It would be surprising if today's Russia's textbook did not serve propagandistic purposes. It's important to understand that this is not history, but political information inserted into a history textbook because they couldn't find another place for it. Flipping through the pages of the textbook, especially those dedicated to Russia's war against Ukraine, one can conclude that the content and rhetoric of the textbook are identical to the state propaganda that echoes from the television every day. It claims that the "United People" united Russian society, "people of different ages and professions." Ukraine is referred to as an "ultranationalist state" where any dissent is "harshly persecuted," "opposition is prohibited," and "everything Russian is declared hostile." According to the textbook authors, the "main beneficiary of the Ukrainian conflict is the US," whose defense-industrial complex has become "overwhelmed with orders." The classic formulation for Russian propaganda is also presented here: "The US is fully committed to fighting 'to the last Ukrainian.'" By rewriting history, high-ranking propagandists are literally shaping the young generation in Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Moreover, by imposing educational programs based on the new history textbooks on schoolchildren in the occupied territory of Ukraine, the Russian occupiers commit yet another crime against Ukrainian children.
Source: 24Brussels
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