The year 2013 marked the beginning of a revolution in Russian education. After Vladimir Putin declared that the country needed a single history textbook, a process was set into motion that removed textbooks the regime viewed as unsuitable for schools.

Modern-day Russia is a place where speaking openly about the Second World War could lead to a five-year prison sentence. It is a country where buying academic degrees is publicly accepted and high positions are handed out based on loyalty to the regime. The illegal circulation of funds surprises no one in Putin’s Russia. Without the right connections, there is no way to run a business or develop a career. In this climate, there are growing restrictions on the type of school textbooks and who is allowed to publish them.

The battle for the future shape of Russia’s education system is now in full swing. Not only is the Kremlin increasing its control over what it considers the correct version of the past, there are also signs of a gradual ideological return to promote the glorification of Joseph Stalin.

In 2015 the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany was celebrated in grand style. During that time, a larger than usual number of Stalin monuments was erected in several cities especially in south-western parts of the country upon the proposal of the communist party. The communists’ call came after a 2014 law passed by the Duma introduced a criminal penalty for rehabilitating Nazism and criticising Soviet activities during the Second World War. The law stipulates up to five years in prison for “lying about history”. Similar steps have been taken with regards to teaching history in schools.