A senior adviser to the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Medinsky, has argued that the topic of special military operations should be examined within school history curricula to help students understand how such events unfold. He expressed this view in an interview, emphasizing that material from recent times belongs in the history books and that educators should present it with care to reflect multiple perspectives. Medinsky suggested placing the discussion of special operations into a dedicated section on recent history, asserting that the inclusion would determine what students encounter in textbooks as the narrative evolves over time.
According to him, science and scholarship should illuminate the past while acknowledging that today’s events will ultimately become part of the historical record. He stressed that history serves political purposes and, therefore, educators must explain the nuances behind major decisions and actions. The goal, in his view, is to help learners distinguish between what is reported, what is interpreted, and what remains contested as new information emerges. This approach, he indicated, would equip students with a more informed understanding of public affairs and the forces shaping a nation’s path.
Earlier, Medinsky proposed translating a new book that critiques the CIA’s alleged role in orchestrating coups into English. In late March, a literary event hosted by a book club focused on a work titled Made by CIA: The Secret History of Color Revolutions and Coups. The discussion offered readers a chance to consider how covert operations are discussed in public forums and how interpretations of foreign influence can influence national memory and policy debates. The broader conversation touched on how such narratives are presented to audiences in different languages and what impact that has on international understanding and domestic discourse.