September 10, 2023

Setting a Course for "Statehood"


Setting a Course for "Statehood"
A Russian flag, symbol of the Russian Federation. The Russian Life files.

On September 6, Russia's Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the presidential administration presented a new curriculum for a class called "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood." The course would be interdisciplinary and would create "a coordinated system in which Russian youth will live and develop."

According to Russian state news outlet Izvestia, the course is "only the beginning of long-term systematic work" to help the "younger generation" understand the place of "oneself and one's country in the modern world."

While specifics are vague, such as which grades this course will serve and whether this will take the place of an existing school subject, it is clear that the course will be discussion-based and will address subjects such as Russia's values as a civilization, Russia's national interests, and how these interests intersect with those of the West.

This development comes as Russia continues to promote nationalistic themes in its curriculum in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. However, it's unclear how this "Fundamentals" class would fit into existing initiatives like the extracurricular "Conversations About Important Issues."

You Might Also Like

The Wrong Kind of Patriotism
  • November 30, 2022

The Wrong Kind of Patriotism

A student in Karelia was reportedly disciplined for wearing a sweatshirt with an American flag on it.
Patriotism Ed
  • September 20, 2022

Patriotism Ed

New classes are popping up in Russian schools to discuss the invasion of Ukraine.
A Flag that Rocks
  • August 27, 2022

A Flag that Rocks

The governor of Samara Oblast enlisted the help of students to create a 200-foot-long Russian tricolor out of painted stones for Russian Flag Day.
A Patriotic Statement Piece
  • June 30, 2022

A Patriotic Statement Piece

Russian schools have been given a billion rubles to purchase state symbols to decorate their walls.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955