... assessment of the Soviet era, including Stalinism. This emerging criticism of the Soviet past serves a number of important goals of the leadership, including re-engagement with the West. To this end, the Kremlin recently approved new history textbooks critical of the Soviet past as well as a significant...

... of the national identity construction which wheels Putin put in motion. This explains to a great extent why, as stated by Afanasiev (2007), the wording and approach of the new history textbooks along with their authors have been the subject of arduous debate at the highest political circles.anies...