A new school textbook introduced in Moscow on Monday claims Russia was “forced” to send soldiers into Ukraine in 2022, according to Reuters.
Why It Matters
Russian President Vladimir Putin has often characterized his war in Ukraine as an attempt to thwart Western forces backing Kyiv against Russia.
After launching his invasion of the country in February 2022, he has called the conflict a “special military operation,” and he has compared it to the Soviet battle against Nazis.
Meanwhile, Kyiv and its allies accuse Putin of an unjustified attack in order to seize more territory for his country.
What To Know
According to Reuters, the book is the third volume in the Military History of Russia series and was published to educate children aged 15 and older.
The textbook series was edited by Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to Putin who was once involved in peace negotiations with Ukraine soon after the war broke out. Those peace talks eventually fell apart.
A section of the book that discusses how Russia was “forced” to send its military into Ukraine appears in a chapter entitled “Professionalism, indomitability and courage: Russian troops in the Special Military Operation.”
A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a page of a schoolbook for high school students in Moscow on August 7, 2023.
A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a page of a schoolbook for high school students in Moscow on August 7, 2023.
Photo by YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images
Reuters reported that the book covers Russian war heroes who fought in Ukraine, as well as how Moscow’s current military has adapted techniques used by the Soviet Union’s army in World War II.
The book also reportedly describes how Western influence shifted Ukraine into an “aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead.”
The Kyiv Independent wrote that the book is part of the Kremlin’s efforts to control the narrative about the war, adding critics feel such moves are designed to indoctrinate young Russians.
The book follows the Russian Education Ministry updating school history textbooks in 2023 to discuss the “special military operation” in Ukraine and Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
News of the history book comes after a December report by the Russian news outlet Meduza said a Russian high school textbook urging young girls not to “provoke” boys and men by wearing bright makeup and short skirts had surfaced online.
One of the coauthors of that textbook, Sergey Vangorodsky, said the book is not used as a teaching tool in Russian schools. However, Meduza alleged that the book is used in health and wellness classes at schools in Rostov-on-Don, Volgodonsk and Tambov. The textbook is also for sale online and is listed as a “seventh grade tutorial” book on one site.
Newsweek could not independently verify the contents of either of the Russian textbooks and contacted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via online form on Monday for comment.
What People Are Saying
Russian military historian Ivan Basik said at a news conference held by the Russian state-controlled news agency Tass to announce the book: “The most important task was to explain to the younger generation, to schoolchildren, the forced nature of the special military operation carried out by the Russian Federation.”
What Happens Next
Reports about the history book did not indicate when it will be introduced into schools in Russia.