When government controls the history books

Vladimir Putin has put through a law giving the government approval of history textbooks. His concern is that the Soviet era has been portrayed in too negative a light. His government is more interested in some sort of balancing that doesn't make Russians ashamed of their past. So, note this even-handedness on Stalin's rule.

Now, the Kremlin claims it wants to change that situation and a recommissioning of Russia's history textbooks is under way. A handbook for teachers, on the basis of which a future textbook for students could be written, is called The Modern History of Russia, 1945-2006. Only one of the authors is a professional historian. The book calls Joseph Stalin a "contradictory" figure, and states that while some people consider him evil, others recognise him as a "hero" for his role in the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War) and his territorial expansion.

"Learning history should make people feel part of the nation, but it depends on how it's done," said one history teacher from Moscow. "If the idea is to hide everything that was bad and only speak of strength and military victories, I'm not sure that this is the best way to create that kind of feeling."

The law seems to have come from a meeting Mr Putin held with teachers when he lamented the state of history teaching in the country, saying that both society and teachers were "confused". He called for a more patriotic approach to the subject.

I guess that curriculum would downplay the millions killed through Stalin's policies, the paranoia that gripped the nation under his control, his alliance with Hitler and lack of preparedness for World War II. Such moral blinkers will prepare a new generation of Russian children to accept Putin's moves to establish his own power grabs.