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Russia Expands School History Hours by 50%, Replacing “Western” Curriculum With State Version

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Amira Barkhush
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Russia Expands School History Hours by 50%, Replacing “Western” Curriculum With State Version
Starting September 1, 2025, Russian schools will introduce standardized history textbooks for grades 5 through 9, abandoning the “Western” periodization of the modern era. (Source: Russian media)

Beginning September 1, 2025, Russian middle school students in grades 5 to 7 will study history for three hours per week, up from the current two, according to a revised curriculum, RIA Novosti reported on June 8.

The total number of hours dedicated to history throughout schooling will increase from 340 to 476—a nearly 50% jump.

The expansion includes the introduction of a new subject, History of Our Region, which will account for 34 hours in grade 5 and 17 hours each in grades 6 and 7. Additionally, instruction time for World History will increase by five hours, while Russian History will see a 12-hour boost.

For now, high school students in grades 8 through 11 will continue under the existing schedule of two history hours per week.

Starting September 1, 2025, Russian schools will also introduce standardized history textbooks for grades 5 through 9. The authors include Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Vladimir Putin, and Alexander Chubaryan, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to Chubaryan, the new school textbooks have “ceased to be Eurocentric.” He noted that they now include expanded coverage of the histories of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Medinsky added that the books also abandon the “Western” periodization of the modern era.

It was previously reported that the new history textbooks will be in use across all Russian schools by the 2025–2026 academic year.

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