New Russian high school textbooks, introduced in 2023 on the instruction of President Vladimir Putin, are attempting to whitewash Stalinist crimes and rehabilitate the Soviet Union’s legacy. These textbooks are now mandatory reading for 10th and 11th graders in Russia and occupied territories. This is just one example of state-sponsored efforts to use history and scholarship to serve Putin’s agenda and goals. Other projects include the establishment of the National Center of Historical Memory, the creation of historical parks called “Russia: My History,” and the publication of a collection of archival documents on the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians. These projects aim to control the historical narrative and promote Russian cultural and educational imperialism.
Putin’s efforts to redeem the Soviet past may explain why Stalin is popular in Russia, with 63% of Russians expressing a positive attitude toward the dictator. However, Stalin’s place in history remains divisive, especially in the nations he once ruled over. Activists are still fighting to commemorate the victims of political repression in Russia, as privately funded monuments to Stalin increase.
The new school textbooks maintain some nuance in their coverage of Stalinism but warp the historical narrative. They blame the consequences of collectivization on poor harvests and mistakes of local leadership rather than Stalinist policies. The textbooks also emphasize the role of private denunciations and praise Felix Dzerzhinsky, the creator of the Soviet secret police and an architect of the “Red Terror.” The authors lose any attempt at objectivity in discussing Soviet foreign policy, depicting it as defensive and serving to protect occupied and annexed territories.
The whitewashing of Stalin and his crimes is crucial for understanding Putin’s imperialist ideology and goals. Putin and ideologists in his circle assert that Stalin’s foreign policy and leadership in World War II supersede his crimes against his own people. The more aggressive Russia’s politics become, the more protective the state is over the Soviet historical legacy. Authorities have not allowed demonstrations to commemorate victims of the Great Terror since 2020, and in 2021, they ordered the “liquidation” of the human rights group Memorial. However, Memorial continues to resist, demonstrating the power of resistance against state pressure.
Overall, these efforts to whitewash Stalin and control the historical narrative serve Putin’s agenda and promote Russian cultural and educational imperialism. By distorting history, Putin aims to redeem the Soviet past and justify his own aggressive politics. However, these attempts are divisive and face resistance from activists and organizations dedicated to commemorating the victims of political repression and preserving historical memory.
