National History in Textbooks of the Modern States of Central Asia: Goals and Methods of Presentation

Abstract

This article examines the historical educational literature published in the post-Soviet states of Central Asia. The author identifies the goals and methods of interpreting historical phenomena and highlights the features of presenting material in textbooks and manuals of the various states of the region. This analysis considers the political orientation of the published literature, the content of which is aimed, above all, at the integration of the local population around the idea of independence and state sovereignty. In a number of textbooks of the post-Soviet states, the goal of uniting society and the ruling circles is outlined, the achievement of which is due to the exposure of the “external enemy”, one-sided negative assessments of the consequences of the now sovereign states’ entry into the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union. The study of the reflection of national history in educational literature makes it possible to reveal the aspirations of power elites to achieve political goals rather than scholarly and educational ones. However, the biased selection of material and distortion of facts, while deforming historical knowledge, negatively affect the political atmosphere and sentiment of society, lead to the stirring up of interethnic enmity, separation of peoples and spread of isolating national pride. The identification and comprehension of the power intentions hidden in educational materials, as well as the methods of presenting the past, create conditions for overcoming the biased interpretations of historical events and objective historic coverage.