Disputes around textbook "History of Russia. 1917-2009" continue

The expert's conclusion made by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation on the textbook "History of Russia. 1917-2009" and stating that the book promotes kindling of national enmity, gave rise to plenty of opposing opinions. In the opinion of sociologist Anatoly Golubovskiy, the textbook is a political provocation, while Andrei Shadrin, a colleague of the authors of the book, is sure that its condemnation was "politically customized."

Let us remind you that the textbook was discussed on September 6 at the sitting of the commission on interethnic relations of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation; while Nurdi Nukhazhiev, Ombudsman in Chechnya, prepares a suit against the book stating that it contains "slanderous insinuations" about the Chechen nation.

The textbook "History of Russia. 1917-2009" was written by Professors Alexander Barsenkov and Alexander Vdovin from the division of Russian history of the 20th-21st centuries of the historical department of the Moscow State University (MSU). The third edition of the book appeared in 2010 and was recommended by the Educational-Methodical Association for classical university education as a textbook for higher school students in speciality "History".

Let us note here that letters were announced at the sitting of the Public Chamber, in which the dean of the MSU's historical department has assured that the textbook had been withdrawn from sale and distribution at the department and would be subjected to a complex scientific examination. The authors of the book have recognized, in their turn, that they "had used unverified data."

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has addressed for comments to a history teacher of one of Moscow schools. He said that he knows the works of Barsenkov and Vdovin: "They are real professionals; professors not by occasion. However, they had been apparently for too long engaged in the notorious topic of the 'national problem' and got too deep in all this; therefore, this textbook has already seen not quite professional offset towards nationalism."