Since 2023, history in Russian high schools has been taught from a single, standardized textbook, whose lead author is Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky. Its creators have made no secret of the fact that their main goal is to “foster patriotism.” Starting in September 2026, all schools will switch to the same textbook series, beginning in fifth grade. In an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Vladislav Kononov, the project’s executive secretary and a presidential administration official, discussed the thinking behind it. Meduza translated some of his more notable remarks into English.
On the reason for a unified textbook
A single, standardized textbook provides the foundation for a shared civic identity. There is no alternative history, just as none of us has — or could have — different parents. You can reflect and ask questions. But if you begin to despise your country’s past, you have no future as its citizen.
On whether the textbook has errors
Our textbook has undergone extensive review. Three institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences examined it, and the Education Ministry conducted its own evaluations. What is happening now is effectively a nationwide trial phase: we’re collecting feedback, which is a normal part of the process. Textbooks are constantly refined and improved — this has always been the case across all subjects.
There have not been many comments from teachers. The document compiling feedback on the ninth-grade textbook runs to just 15 pages. The process is, in a good sense, endless, since there will always be second-, third-, and fourth-order remarks. But there are no factual errors in the textbooks.
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On criticism of the textbook
Textbooks for grades 10–11 were openly and aggressively criticized only by “foreign agents.” It’s been gratifying to see [their reactions]: for once, they immediately understood that mass speculation on historical topics is coming to an end. I don’t buy the idea that those inside Russia were simply afraid to criticize.
