School Education Reform and Foreign Influences in Post-Soviet Russia

School Education Reform and Foreign Influences in Post-Soviet Russia

by

Daria Khokhlova

This project investigates the reform of history education in post-Soviet Russia and the contested role of Western aid in driving it. It examines how replacing Soviet-era history textbooks became a site of confrontation between liberal reformers and conservative traditionalists, reflecting broader political cleavages. While conservatives dominated Boris Yeltsin’s government, liberals steered education policy and, with support from Soros’s foundations, UNESCO, EUROCLIO, and the Council of Europe, introduced textbooks promoting pluralist historical narratives. Although primarily initiated by Russian actors, these reforms provoked a conservative backlash portraying them as foreign interference, often linked to Soros.