Why the new textbook on the history of Ukraine faced a wave of criticism
4 April 21:35
The new 11th grade Ukrainian history textbook, which covers the full-scale Russian invasion, has become the subject of discussion and criticism on social media.
Historian Maria Vorotylo drew attention to the textbook, published in 2024, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to her, this edition began to be distributed to schoolchildren at the end of March, although in two months they will have to take the National Multiple Subject Test (NMT).
The woman noted that what angered her the most was that the textbook ends with the events of 2024. That is, students have to study events that they themselves participated in. And the material “goes through all their triggers.”
According to Maria, it is unclear what criteria the authors of the textbook used to choose what to talk about and what not to talk about. Among other things, she expressed a wish to provide more information about the military, volunteers, stories of the dead, the events that preceded the full-scale invasion, etc.
“We have a kind of agreement between historians – we do not discuss professionally events that are less than 5 years old. Because too little time has passed, we are not yet objective, not all the consequences may be obvious. And if we talk about Ukraine, such “young” events are still incredibly triggering. And the government that ruled the country in 2020 and beyond is still in power,” the historian wrote.
European Solidarity MP Iryna Gerashchenko called for “not falsifying history” and “not selling politics.”
“I remember Zelensky’s inauguration. He called for not hanging his portraits in the offices. But now his photo is being put on diaries, notebooks, and textbooks. It’s vulgar.”
Meanwhile, Lesia Hasydzhak, Director General of the Holodomor Museum, criticized the professionalism of the textbook’s authors.
“I don’t understand how a ‘Ukrainian journalist, screenwriter, producer, propagandist, author of documentary and historical projects’ (this is a quote from Wikipedia, not a ‘historian’) can be the author of a textbook on the history of Ukraine. And yes, we are talking about Akim Galimov,” she wrote.
The Ministry of Education and Science has not yet commented on this situation.
