Nation Building in Russia: a study into secondary school geography education as tool for nation building of the youth in Russia

Abstract

In this study several geography textbooks for Russian secondary school education are analyzed, in order to see in which way geography education is used as a tool for nation building among secondary school children. Russia is a multi-ethnic state and the education guidelines state that the Russian geography education should teach patriotism. How this is done in practice has been analyzed from the textbooks and with subsequent teacher interviews. The conclusion is that most textbooks are Russo-centered, with little attention for minorities within the country. Economic and ecological problems are very often described as being due to external causes, and nature and especially natural resources are frequently used to indicate the current and future potential of Russia.