The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv found Volodymyr Medinsky, assistant to the President of Russia and negotiator, as well as Anatoliy Torkunov, rector of MGIMO, guilty of creating and distributing an anti-Ukrainian textbook for 11th grade Russian schools. The court sentenced each of them to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property for actions aimed against the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
This is reported by Finway
Content of the Textbook and Its Role in Russian Propaganda
The textbook “History. History of Russia. 1945 – Early 21st Century,” published in Russia in 2023, was used as a tool of information policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Its content includes public calls to change state borders, justifications for the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, and the temporary occupation of part of Ukrainian lands, as well as forming a distorted and ideologically biased understanding of modern history among students.
“The textbook was one of the tools of Russian information policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Its content contains public calls to change the borders of Ukraine and its state border, justifies the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, and also shapes a distorted and ideologically biased understanding of recent historical events among students.”
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine emphasized that particular attention in Russia is focused on children — the most vulnerable group of the population in the occupied territories. Through educational materials, students are imposed with theses about “brotherly nations,” the denial of Ukraine’s independence, and the spread of the Russian version of the war under the guise of the so-called “SVO.” Since September 1, 2023, this textbook has been used in schools in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions, and Crimea, as well as distributed within Russia itself.
Charges and Reaction to the Verdict
Medinsky and Torkunov were charged with encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, as well as justifying and glorifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. As of now, neither of the convicted has commented on the verdict.
Volodymyr Medinsky is also known as the head of the Russian delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in 2022, 2025, and 2026. The last trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia took place in February, but contact was suspended after the start of the war between the USA and Israel against Iran. The Ukrainian side believes that Medinsky’s reappointment as head of the Russian delegation indicates Moscow’s desire to prolong the negotiation process.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte criticized Medinsky for his lack of a constructive position during the negotiations, mentioning that he “interpreted the history of Russia since 1250” instead of discussing current security and peace issues.
Anatoliy Torkunov, rector of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, is a co-author of the mentioned textbook. According to the investigation, his activities also contributed to the spread of anti-Ukrainian propaganda among youth in the occupied territories.