“The most important task was to explain to the younger generation, to school -age children, the forced nature of the special military operation carried out by the Russian Federation,” explained military historian Ivan Basik in the book’s presentation
A new school manual, presented Monday in Moscow, compares to the Soviet struggle against the Nazis and says Russia was “forced” to send troops to Ukraine.
The “Military History of Russia” in three volumes is edited by Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin advisor and Kremlin propaganda architect, who led a delegation that performed unsuccessful peace negotiations with Ukraine in 2022 in the early months of the war.
According to the Agency Reuters, in one of the chapters of the third volume, which is intended for students from the age of 15, entitled “Professionalism, Indomination and Courage: Russian troops in Special Military Operation”, it is explained that Russia was “forced” to Send their troops to Ukraine in 2022 as the West has ignored Russia’s security concerns for years. The book cites longtime complaints, such as the expansion from NATO to the east and the deposition of Ukraine’s Pro-Russian President in 2014, which the author characterizes as a coup supported by the West.
In the presentation of the manual, military historian Ivan Basik stated that Western and Ukrainian actions made war “inevitable.” “The most important task was to explain to the younger generation, to school -age children, the forced nature of the special military operation carried out by the Russian Federation,” he said.
By explaining the war, the manual emphasizes heroism on the battlefield, while drawing parallels between modern Russian military tactics and those employed by the Soviet army during World War II.
The manual is aligned with the thinking of President Vladimir Putin, who describes the “special military operation” as a difficult but necessary struggle, against a Ukraine supported by the West and the NATO, and which is part of a broader existential battle against the Decaying West that tries to weaken and dismember Russia.
According to Kiev Independent, this publication is part of Kremlin’s broader effort to shape the public perception of war through education. In 2023, the Russian Ministry of Education updated the History School Manuals to include sections about the War in Ukraine, the Annexation of Crimea and the impact of Western sanctions.
Also the “conversations about important things”, initiative of the Russian Ministry of Education launched in 2022, promotes topics such as patriotism, traditional family values and Russian nuclear security for students up to six years old. The program includes video classes with figures such as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Patriarch Kirill.
