“By and large, this is nonsense” – Kommersant FM

A new history textbook will be sent for revision; we are talking about chapters dedicated to the repressed peoples of the USSR. Their representatives were outraged by the interpretations of these events. One of the authors of the manual, Vladimir Medinsky, agreed to make adjustments to the relevant paragraph. For this purpose, a special commission will be created with the participation of the heads of the regions where the deportations of the population took place. Kommersant FM political commentator Dmitry Drize considers the incident a positive signal.

Before the new, correct history textbook for high school had time to reach its recipient—the broad school masses—difficulties began to arise. We can’t say that they are big yet, but nonetheless.

What’s the matter? Representatives of the peoples repressed under Stalin were outraged by the interpretations of those events, which, in their opinion, are not much different from the formulations of the Soviet era.

In the new textbook, all this is formulated as follows: for collaboration with the Nazi occupiers, the state formations of Karachais, Kalmyks, Chechens, Ingush, Balkars, Crimean Tatars were liquidated, and they themselves were subjected to collective punishment in the form of forced relocation (deportation) to the eastern regions countries.

At the same time, it is recognized that not only criminals were repressed, but also many innocent people. However, the settlers had to endure many troubles and hardships; justice for them was restored only after 1953.

Vague wording: the entire people were punished for a specific offense, but still it was unfair. Unfair or illegal? Justice is not a legal concept. And where is the evidence of this very cooperation, and universal, massive one?

And now all this will have to be corrected somehow. One of the authors of the textbook, Vladimir Medinsky, agreed to finalize the controversial chapter together with representatives of the heads of those same regions. For this purpose, a special commission is formed.

By and large, this is nonsense. It’s hard to even remember that something like this has ever happened. And even more so, so that adjustments would be promptly made to an already published publication, printed and released in a circulation of 800 thousand copies.

And what do you want me to do now? Withdraw from circulation, paste in new pages, or perhaps write by hand and thus finalize it?

By the way, today one chapter needs improvement, but where is the guarantee that the public will not like something else? Hand on heart, it’s not that hard to find a reason.

Well, we’ll keep an eye on it. It’s very interesting how all this can be improved. Or maybe take out the entire chapter? It’s easier. But let’s not guess. That’s what creative management is for, to solve any problem.

Nevertheless, I am very glad that the public is demanding the truth. This means that all is not lost. Plus, there is a small fear that schoolchildren and teachers will become completely confused.

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