Patriotic Education in Contemporary Russia

Sociological Studies in the Making of the Post-Soviet Citizen

This book outlines the complexities, contestation, and contradictions in the formal organization and contents of patriotic education in post-Soviet Russia. While the topics of patriotism and patriotic education are highly political and politicized, this study approaches them from a more sociological perspective. It is based on a variety of sources and empirical data, including the indicators and budgets of federal and regional patriotic-education programs and on field research. The book explores in depth all major agents of patriotic education in Russia, such as the government, schools, youth associations, churches, and the film/cartoon industry. It traces the development of governmental patriotic programs in recent decades, discusses how the Soviet past and political traditions influence today's system of patriotic education, and presents numerous case studies illustrating real-life processes in current patriotic education.