Russian school textbooks are promoting a narrative that portrays Moldova as a historical part of Russia and denies its legitimacy as a sovereign state, according to an analysis by WatchDog expert and historian Artur Lescu, reports IPN.
The analysis reveals that history textbooks for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students in Russia distort historical facts and prepare younger generations to accept potential future conflicts in former Soviet republics.
“Russian textbooks describe Moldova as a historical Russian territory, portray it as weakly justified in its sovereignty, and depict it as vulnerable to hostile external influences—all in contradiction with historical realities and international law,” the report states.
The textbooks frame the annexations of 1812 and 1940 (not 1949, as some materials incorrectly claim) as “historical reunifications,” presenting Russia’s territorial claims over Bessarabia as legitimate. The textbooks justify these claims by referencing Russia’s losses following World War I.
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Additionally, Moldova is described as an “artificial entity,” formed purely out of Soviet political and administrative motives. One 10th-grade textbook claims the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was created by uniting Bessarabia with the Moldavian Autonomous Republic—framing Moldova’s statehood as a construct of Soviet policy, rather than the expression of a distinct national identity.
Dr. Lescu warns that such narratives aim to delegitimize Moldova’s sovereignty and diminish its historical and cultural autonomy. “This version of history implies that Moldova owes its existence to the will and generosity of the Soviet Union, rather than to its people and history,” he says.
Vladimir Medinsky, a key Kremlin negotiator on Ukraine and advisor to President Vladimir Putin, oversaw the development of the textbooks in question.