Almighty Soros? Education Reform and Foreign Influence in Post-Soviet Russia

This article examines the reform of history education in post-Soviet Russia, paying particular attention to the influence of George Soros’s foundations. It demonstrates how education reform in the field of history, particularly the production of new school textbooks, was characterised by a confrontation between liberal and nationalist forces, which echoed the clashes between these groups in the political arena. The article demonstrates that, in contrast to President Boris Yeltsin’s government, liberals prevailed in the field of education and were able to promote new history textbooks despite nationalist opposition. George Soros’s foundations supported Russian liberals financially but left them to lead the reform process. Despite liberal reforms in history education being a homegrown affair, the nationalist backlash concentrated on attacking foreign philanthropists such as Soros. These critiques, which were built upon the widespread rejection of Western models in the late 1990s, contributed to the discreditation of liberal politicians and their reforms in post-Soviet Russia.