Russia is preparing to introduce textbooks for school language and literature classes aimed at promoting “patriotism” and “spiritual and moral values” among students, the authors of the new materials said Thursday at a Federation Council session.
Moscow has ramped up efforts to enforce its view of history and global politics in schools since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, introducing mandatory patriotic classes and rewriting history curricula to align with the Kremlin’s wartime narratives.
The Russian language textbook, now in its final stages of development, is designed to ensure “continuity” with other subjects like history, literature and social studies, said Yelena Yerokhina, head of the rhetoric and speech culture department at Moscow State Pedagogical University (MPGU), according to the exiled news outlet Agentsvo.
She said the goal of the project is not to train “linguistic theorists” but “literate citizens who care about preserving and developing the Russian language.”
“Our approach to teaching Russian is patriotic and nationally oriented,” Yerokhina added.
Viktor Chertov, head of MPGU’s literature teaching methods department and leader of the team developing the new literature textbook, said the concept is based on “reliance on our traditions.”
“Of course, this reflects what’s outlined in the president’s decree. Our main task is to strengthen traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, and literature as a subject provides rich material for that,” Chertov said.
The new textbooks will for the first time feature works by Alexander Pushkin in every grade as well as sections on World War II and a “Literary Map of Russia.”
The new textbooks are part of a broader education reform to standardize teaching materials across all subjects, a plan announced earlier by Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov.
The first standardized Russian language and literature textbooks for grades 10 and 11 are expected to be introduced in schools by Sept. 1, 2027, with those for elementary and middle-school grades following in 2028.
Russia previously rolled out a single state-approved history textbook edited by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
That book includes quotes from President Vladimir Putin and chapters on common Russian propaganda talking points including “U.S. pressure on Russia,” “Ukrainian Nazism,” the “return of historical lands” and the “falsification of history.”
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