Putin Opens School Year In Russia But New History Textbook Given Failing Grade
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to students and teachers via a video link on September 1.
Russian students began the first day of a new school year with words of encouragement from President Vladimir Putin and a revised history textbook that critics say is intended to “incite anger toward Ukrainians” and explain to future conscripts “why they are putting on uniforms and boots.”
Speaking via a video link to students on September 1, Putin listed a litany of accomplishments that he claimed the government had achieved, saying the country was setting an example “in creating conditions for the education of the younger generation.”
But he didn't mention the new textbook for high-school students that, among other things, justifies Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The revised history textbook is to be used for students in the 11th grade -- the final year of high school. It is full of “Russian official propaganda cliches” and tries to justify Russia’s illegal actions, including its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Amnesty International noted in a statement on September 1.
“The textbook conceals the truth and misrepresents the facts about serious human rights violations and crimes under international law committed by Russian forces against Ukrainians,” said Anna Wright, Amnesty International researcher for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
“Indoctrination of children at a vulnerable stage of their development is a cynical attempt to eradicate Ukrainian culture, heritage and identity and is also a violation of the right to education” Wright added.
Vladimir Medinsky, a nationalist aide to Putin who served as culture minister between 2012 2020 and is one of the authors of the new textbook, said on August 8 that “the section about the period from the 1970s until the 2000s has been completely reworked.”
Putin, who frequently talks and writes about history while making "patriotic education" one of the defining features of his more than two decades of rule, is widely accused by critics in Russia and abroad of distorting the past.
The history text falsely claims that prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO advisers actively prepared Ukraine to “attack Donbas,” a reference to the areas of eastern Ukraine that have been under Russian occupation since 2014.
It also states that, if Ukraine were allowed to join NATO, it could have led to a destructive war and “possibly the end of the civilization,” leaving Russia no choice but to take preventive action.
The new textbook claims that the invasion of Ukraine is a “special military operation” and quotes Putin on February 24, 2022, the day he launched the move, as saying: “This is ultimately a question of life and death, the question of our historic future as a people."
Since launching the invasion, Russian authorities have taken the suppression of freedoms in the country to unprecedented levels.
Independent media outlets and human rights organizations are being shut down and noted opposition politicians and Kremlin critics have been jailed or have had to flee the country.
Meanwhile hundreds of Russians have been detained for voicing any kind of dissent over the move to invade neighboring Ukraine.
Ribbons And Bells As Children Return To School Across Former Soviet Block
1/13Schoolchildren attend a ceremony on the first day at school in Kharkiv on September 1.
Ukraine marks September 1 as Knowledge Day, a traditional launch of the academic year. Most of the children wear traditional "vysivanka" shirts.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
2/13The celebration of the first day at school in Kharkiv takes place in an underground subway station for security reasons, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine.
For this school year, the second since the war with Russia started, most schools in Ukraine resumed on September 1, except for those in territories close to the front lines, which will implement online teaching.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
3/13Schoolgirls sing Ukraine's national anthem as they attend a ceremony for the first day of school in Bucha, near Kyiv.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
4/13First-graders play near a school before a ceremony to mark the start of the new school year in Kyiv
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
5/13Schoolchildren take part in a "first bell" ceremony to mark the beginning of the new school year at a newly opened school in Mariupol on September 1.
The Russian Defense Ministry has completed the construction of a new comprehensive school in Mariupol for 1,100 students, its press service said. In May 2022, the Ukrainian port of Mariupol fell to Russian forces after weeks of fighting that left the city almost completely devastated.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
6/13Students look through copies of a new Russian history textbook at a secondary school in the city of Shchastye. The controversial textbook, authored by Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky and MGIMO University Rector Anatoly Torkunov, contains a section on Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
7/13A pin reading "I'm a first-grader 2023" adorns the jacket of a schoolboy during a "first bell" ceremony to mark the beginning of the school year in Moscow on September 1.
Russian schools traditionally open on September 1, with more than 2 million children expected to attend the first class in more than 40,000 secondary schools this year in Russia.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
8/13Russian schoolboys parade with a Russian national tricolor flag during a "first bell" ceremony in Moscow on September 1.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
9/13Moldovan kids gesture during the first day of school at a ceremony in Chisinau on September 1.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
10/13Thefirst day of school is celebrated at a school in Chisinau.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
11/13A girl makes a heart sign during a Knowledge Day celebration at a secondary school in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on September 1.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
12/13First-graders are guided by their new teacher to their classroom in Bishkek.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
13/13Forty new schools opened their doors across Kyrgyzstan on September 1.
Children across Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, And Central Asia returned to school on September 1. Girls wore ribbons in their hair and boys marched and rang bells to welcome in the new academic year.
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