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Russia Introduces New School Textbook Justifying Ukraine War to Teenagers

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Russia Introduces New School Textbook Justifying Ukraine War to Teenagers
Vladimir Medinsky at the presentation of the new edition of the textbook "Military History of Russia" in Moscow, January 27, 2025. (Photo: open source)

Russian officials presented a new school textbook designed to explain the war in Ukraine to teenagers, framing it as a necessary action to safeguard Russia’s security, according to Reuters on January 27.

The three-volume textbook, titled "Military History of Russia," is intended for schoolchildren aged 15 and older. It was edited by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who has also co-authored Russia’s main history textbook. Medinsky is known for his involvement in the failed 2022 peace talks with Ukraine during the early months of the Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The textbook describes Russia’s actions in Ukraine as "forced" and contextualizes the ongoing Russia’s war as part of a broader struggle against Western aggression, drawing parallels to the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany in World War II. Moscow officially refers to the war as a "Special Military Operation," a term reinforced in the textbook to align with the Kremlin’s narrative.

The textbook claims that Russia’s military actions were provoked by NATO’s eastward expansion and the 2014 ousting of a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich, which it describes as a Western-backed move that transformed Ukraine into an "aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead." A chapter titled "Professionalism, Indomitability, and Courage: Russian Troops in the Special Military Operation" details the Kremlin’s rationale for the war and highlights what it describes as acts of “battlefield heroism.”

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, military historian Ivan Basik, who is affiliated with the Russian army, stated: "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."

Previously, it was reported that Russian schools will host “patriotic music lessons” featuring singers such as pro-Kremlin Shaman, Oleg Gazmanov, and Denis Maidanov.

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