Nation Building in Russia A study into secondary school geography education as tool for nation building of the youth in Russia Jacques Bazen MSc 0 Colophon: Author: Jacob Cornelis Bazen MSc Student number: 9722432 Nation Building in Russia: A study into Secondary School Geography education as tool for nation building of the youth in Russia Cover illustration: Map of Russia in the world economic system, source: Dronov & Rom (2012), p. 55 Master thesis, for obtaining an MA degree in Geo-information and Communication at the Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Geosciences Utrecht University, The Netherlands Academic supervisor: Dr. L.J. Paul 1 Table of contents Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 8 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Introduction to nationalism and nation building .................................................................... 9 1.3 Relevance of the research..................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Research questions ............................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Structure of the report .......................................................................................................... 12 2 Research Methodology ................................................................................................................. 14 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Research type and design ..................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Research methods and operationalization of the conceptual model .................................. 15 2.3.1 Sub research question 1: The Russian national narrative ............................................. 15 2.3.2 Sub research question 2: The geography curriculum ................................................... 16 2.3.3 Sub research question 3: Developments in nation building activities in education ..... 16 2.3.4 Sub-research question 4: The role of the teacher ........................................................ 17 2.4 Response and non-response ................................................................................................. 17 2.5 Definitions and limitations of the research .......................................................................... 17 3 Nationalism and Education – theoretical framework ................................................................... 19 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Definitions of nationalism and nation building ..................................................................... 19 3.2.1 Origins of nationalism ................................................................................................... 19 3.2.2 Nationalism and nation building ................................................................................... 20 3.2.3 Nationalism and territory .............................................................................................. 21 3.2.4 Theories of nationalism................................................................................................. 22 3.2.5 Functions of nationalism ............................................................................................... 24 3.2.6 Types of nationalism ..................................................................................................... 25 3.3 Education and nation-building, a double edged sword ........................................................ 27 3.4 Conceptual model of nationalism and education ................................................................. 30 4 Russian history and development of nationalism ......................................................................... 33 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 33 4.2 Russian history and the development of a national narrative ............................................. 33 4.2.1 Medieval history: Kievan Rus and the modern Russian and Ukrainian state ............... 34 4.2.2 The period of the Mongol “occupation” ....................................................................... 35 4.2.3 The formation of the Russian state ............................................................................... 36 4.2.4 “The times of troubles” ................................................................................................. 37 2 4.2.5 Russia becomes an empire ........................................................................................... 38 4.2.6 19th century reforms and the Russian revolution ......................................................... 40 4.2.7 The Great Patriotic War and the rise of the USSR as a superpower ............................. 43 4.2.8 The modern Russian Federation ................................................................................... 45 4.3 Russian nationalism in the context of Eastern Europe ......................................................... 49 4.4 Russian ethnic minorities and their national narratives ....................................................... 51 4.4.1 Ethnic minorities in Russia and their republics ............................................................. 51 4.4.2 Tatars ............................................................................................................................ 53 4.4.3 Ukrainians ..................................................................................................................... 54 4.4.4 Bashkir ........................................................................................................................... 55 4.4.5 Chuvash ......................................................................................................................... 56 4.4.6 Chechen ........................................................................................................................ 56 4.4.7 Armenians ..................................................................................................................... 57 5 Nation building in the Russian Education system ......................................................................... 59 5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 59 5.2 Characteristics of the Russian education system.................................................................. 59 5.3 Effectiveness of the Russian education system .................................................................... 61 5.4 From Soviet Union to Russia: Development of the Russian education system .................... 62 5.5 Geography in the Russian education system ........................................................................ 64 5.6 Description of the textbook contents ................................................................................... 68 5.6.1 Introduction of the textbooks ....................................................................................... 68 5.6.2 8th and 9th grade: Russia’s place in the world / Russian regions ................................... 69 5.6.3 10th and 11th grade: Geography of the World ............................................................... 98 5.6.4 Recent “Class Hour” teacher presentations on the enlargement of Russia ............... 102 6 Teachers and nation building – analysis of interviews ............................................................... 107 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 107 6.2 Profile of the interviewees .................................................................................................. 107 6.3 Teachers and the development of the Russian national narrative ..................................... 108 6.4 Training and support for teachers ...................................................................................... 110 6.5 Education methods and ethnic diversity in class ................................................................ 111 7 Conclusions and discussion ......................................................................................................... 113 7.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 113 7.2 Discussion and recommendations for further research ..................................................... 114 Literature ............................................................................................................................................ 116 Annexes ............................................................................................................................................... 126 Annex 1. Structure of the Geographical