Russia Approves Textbook Edited by Former Culture Minister Who Supports Patriotic Education, Disapproves of “Multiculturalism”
Evan James
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The Russian Ministry of Education has given its stamp of approval to a history textbook edited by a Vladimir Putin aide who has spoken out against “tolerance” and “multiculturalism.”
Vladimir Medinsky edited the textbook, which will be published some time “in the near future” and made available to schools across Russia.
Medinsky previously served as the Russian minister of culture in 2012 under former president Dmitry Medvedev. He now serves as an aide to President Putin and focuses on “history and humanities policy.”
Medinsky is known for his conservative worldview and promotion of an education grounded in Russian culture and history that is both fact-based and takes “state interests” into account. He is also a vocal opponent of contemporary neoliberalism and its exaltation of multiculturalism.
“There is something better in [Russian] tradition [than multiculturalism]: centuries of coexistence and collaboration of different cultures and traditions, built on the commonality that unites them, and not on the suppressed irritated patience of each other,” he said in a 2013 speech. “Incidentally, this is the most valuable experience in world history. It was ignored by those who colonized America, India and Africa.”
In other news, the Russian government recently gave Twitter thirty days to take down child porn and posts related to drug abuse. If they don’t, the government will kick Twitter to the curb and ban them. Russia had also slowed access to the social media giant around the same time.
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