Russia starts removing references to Kyiv from school textbooks

Some Russian school textbooks have removed references to Kyiv in paragraphs about Kyivan Rus.

Source: Mediazona

Details: The news agency Mediazona has reviewed a few pages of the edited fourth-grade textbook The World Around Us (for 9-10-year-olds) and compared them to the 2021 version.

The previous edition stated that the chronicle The Tale of Bygone Years was written by Nestor, a monk of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves), while the new edition simply calls Nestor a monk, without specifying the place where he lived and worked.

In addition, in a sixth-grade Russian history textbook (for 11-12-year-olds), the date that is considered the moment when Rus [Kyivan Rus - ed.] as a state was founded has been changed.

Mediazona reports that the 2016 edition reads, "Many historians regard 882, the year in which Oleh united Novgorod and Kyiv, as the notional date of the formation of the Old Russian state." The 2023 edition reads, "Gradually, the dynasty of princes who traced their lineage to Rurik became the most important one. The formation of the state of Rus is associated with the invitation of Rurik to Novgorod in 862."

The Russian authorities are also preparing teaching materials that "clarify the role of Kyiv" in Russian history. According to a source at the publishing house Prosveshchenie (Enlightenment), these materials will be delivered to schools by the end of spring and will be used in the next school year.

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