“Kommersant” compares the texts of 2010, 2021 and 2023
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On September 1, Russian high school students began to learn history using new unified textbooks. According to their co-author Vladimir Medinsky, the paragraphs devoted to the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s have been completely revised in the books, and a section on the special operation in Ukraine has been added. Kommersant compared the new textbook with previous versions.
The following textbooks recommended by the Ministry of Education were taken for analysis:
(1). History of Russia, XX – beginning of the XXI century, grade 11. A. A. Levandovsky, Yu. A. Shchetinov, S. V. Mironenko, 2010.
(2). History of Russia in the beginning of the XX – the beginning of the XXI century, 10th grade. A. V. Shubin, M. Yu. Myagkov, Yu. A. Nikiforov, 2021.
(3). History of Russia, 1945 – the beginning of the XXI century, grade 11. V. R. Medinsky, A. V. Torkunov, 2023.
On Stalin’s death
Was (1): “March 5, 1953, I. V. Stalin died. Towards the end of his life, this man reached the zenith of power, having built on the blood and selfless enthusiasm of tens of millions of people the second most powerful world power.
Now (3): “With the death of I. Stalin on March 5, 1953, an entire era in the life of the country ended. The death of a long-term leader of the state caused confusion, fear, sincere grief among the majority of Soviet people. The reaction in the world was mixed. Along with regret and the usual expressions of grief in such cases by ordinary people who sympathized with the Soviet Union and its leader, many pro-American newspapers and magazines called the deceased leader a tyrant, a dictator. However, the role of Stalin in the victory over Germany and the liberation of the world from the Nazi threat was most often recalled.
On the transfer of Crimea
Was (2): “In 1954 Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. The transfer was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. Wherein The opinion of local residents was not asked. In those years, it was believed that it was not so important in which republic of the USSR this or that territory was located. But the consequences of these decisions turned out to be long-term.”
In the history textbook of 2010, the topic of the transfer of Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR was not raised.
Now (3): “In 1954, on the personal initiative of N. Khrushchev and without observing the norms of Soviet legislation, Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. The opinions of the Crimeans, the absolute majority of whom were ethnic Russians, were not asked by anyone… As a result, Crimea was cut off from Russia for many years. Historical justice was restored only in 2014.”
About Gagarin’s flight
Was (1): “The world’s first satellite (1957) and the first spacecraft with a man on board – Yu. A. Gagarin (1961) are being launched into near-Earth orbit. However in general, the industry continued to move along the usual routine path.
Now (3): “The first flight into space in the history of mankind was a triumph for the Soviet Union. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was enthusiastically received in many countries of the world. The authority of the USSR stepped to the cosmic height.
On the quality of life in an era of stagnation
Was (1): “No more than 4% of national income was spent on health care (in developed countries – about 12%). Between 1970 and 1985, life expectancy fell by two years, and according to this most important indicator, the USSR fell back to 35th place in the world, and to 50th in terms of infant mortality.
Now (3): “The USSR has achieved great success in the development of science, education, and healthcare. This ensured a positive dynamics of population growth, an increase in life expectancy. In terms of the level of education, the USSR occupied leading positions in the world.
About the fuel and energy complex of the era of stagnation
Was (1): “The main way to avoid economic collapse the authorities saw in forcing supplies to the Western energy market, all the more so since their prices have risen almost twenty-fold in the 1970s alone. For 1960–1985 the share of fuel and raw material exports to the USSR rose from 16.2% to 54.4%, while the share of machinery and sophisticated equipment fell from 20.7% to 12.5%. The foreign trade of the USSR acquired a clearly expressed “colonial” character. But the treasury was fabulously enriched by hundreds of billions of petrodollars.”
Now (3): “Exploration and development of raw material deposits, construction of main pipelines, distribution and processing systems and production facilities has become one of the most ambitious projects, in which all sectors of the economy of the USSR were involved. The successful development of oil and gas fields in the USSR coincided in time with the most acute energy crisis in the West.
About Brezhnev
Was (1): “In the person of L. And Brezhnev and his entourage, the Soviet nomenklatura – state, economic, military and the most influential party – found an obedient conductor of its collective will. The new leadership of the country conscientiously and, as a rule, without unnecessary initiative, put into practice the fundamental principles that were being formed in this narrow and all-powerful stratum of Soviet society.
Now (3): “He proved himself to be a wise and successful leader… The main feature of the political development of the USSR in the period under review was stabilization of the power system. The leading role in the leadership was established for L. Brezhnev, who, when making decisions, was largely guided by the collective opinion of the party apparatus.
About publicity
Was (1): “A course towards glasnost was proclaimed, i.e., towards a top-controlled mitigation of censorship over the media, the elimination of “special depositories” in libraries, the publication of previously banned books, etc. However, it soon became clear that the party apparatus, which has long lost its flexibility and adaptive capabilities, is not able to hold back the flow of free speech in line with the officially confirmed “socialist choice””.
Now (3): “In conditions when all censorship restrictions were lifted, and the state actually withdrew from the control of the media, an avalanche of destructive and hostile information fell upon the citizens of the USSR. It was touted as “freedom of speech.”
About the war in Afghanistan
Was (1): “In order to hold its positions in Afghanistan, Moscow in 1979 decided to introduce there a “limited contingent of Soviet troops” (about 200 thousand people). The USSR was drawn into a bloody war, unfolded in a small Asian country with a patriarchal-tribal way of life.
Now (3): “On December 25, 1979, at the request of the government of Afghanistan, a limited contingent of Soviet troops was introduced into the country. His goal was support for the Afghan army in the fight against the Islamists, whose bases, with the help of the United States and NATO, were deployed on the territory of neighboring Pakistan. The West used the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan for propaganda attacks on the USSR.
About the collapse of the USSR
Was (1): “The first all-Union referendum in Soviet history, held in March 1991 gave M. S. Gorbachev and his associates hope that the “voice of the people” would be heard by republican politicians: out of 185.6 million full-fledged citizens, 148.6 million voted, 76.4% of whom were in favor of “preserving the USSR as a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics.”
Now (3): “On March 17, 1991, an All-Union referendum was held, at which more than 76% of the citizens of the USSR spoke in favor of preserving the union … In Ukraine, the bulletin of the All-Union referendum was added question, the manipulative nature of which was not yet obvious to everyone: “Do you agree that Ukraine should be part of the Union of Soviet Sovereign States on the basis of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine?” If 70.2% voted for the preservation of the USSR, then 80.2% voted for the second question. Most ordinary people, answering “yes” to both questions, could not see the double bottom, since the preservation of the USSR without Ukraine was impossible for anyone to imagine.”
About the putsch of 1991
Was (2): “The capture of the White House could have been carried out only at the cost of great loss of life. The members of the GKChP did not dare to shed blood. They didn’t know what to do. The troops ceased to obey them. But on August 21, there were still clashes between armored vehicles and demonstrators, during which three people were killed.”
Now (3): “Members of the State Emergency Committee were inactive: in the circumstances to turn the situation in their favor, it was impossible to avoid the use of force. However, they did not dare to do so. The strange coup, in which all the lawful leaders of the state allegedly acted as putschists, ended just as strangely.
About voucher privatization
Was (1): “Its first stage was carried out on the basis of vouchers (nominal privatization checks) issued free of charge to all citizens of Russia. They could be invested in shares of privatized objects. 40 million shareholders appeared in the country, but mostly nominal, because most of the shares through the free sale of vouchers were concentrated in the hands of the former managers of state property.
Now (3): “The government decided to give each citizen a privatization check (it was called a voucher in the Western manner) with a face value of 10 thousand rubles, which could be exchanged for shares. Mass privatization began in August 1992. The authors of the reform argued that the value of the voucher corresponds to the price of the car “Volga”, but it was a hoax. By the end of the year, its real price corresponded only to the price of a few kilograms of sausage.”
About the 1996 presidential election
Was (1): “The main pre-election struggle unfolded between B. N. Yeltsin and the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G. A. Zyuganov. The president defended the fidelity of the strategic course of reforms, promising to deploy them “face to the people” to a greater extent than before. His opponent, on the contrary, sharply criticized the reforms and their results… The majority of voters made a choice in favor of continuing the reforms. Despite all the difficulties, the citizens of Russia did not want to return to the past.”
Now (3): “Yeltsin’s authority was extremely low. During the election campaign, the president’s supporters relied on advanced information technology and an aggressive media campaign. Day and night, television and a number of the most influential print publications convinced voters that in the event of Yeltsin’s defeat, the Communists would return to power, and did not spare colors for depicting the horrors and upheavals that would come in this case. Yeltsin was also supported by the seven largest oligarchic financial groups in Russia (“seven bankers”), who provided funding for his election campaign.”
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