[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 13, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 13, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         NEW RUSSIAN CURRICULUM

                                 ______


                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 1994

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to point out an 
event that, while little noticed, exemplifies the progress being made 
to bring Russia and its people into the community of democratic 
nations.
  This year, for the first time in more than 70 years, children in 
Russia will begin the school year with textbooks that are free of 
Communist ideology and propaganda. These new books are being 
distributed to the nation's 21 million students. Gone are the 
references to the Great October Socialist Revolution and other 
falsehoods promoted by the Communist Party. Instead, lessons on 
democratic rights and accurately depicted historical events have 
replaced Communist textbooks ladened with discussions of class 
struggles. The new Russian educational curriculum will also include 
completely new courses on market economics and business management.
  Mr. Speaker, what we are witnessing is a momentous change in 
education in Russia--and in Russia itself. The knowledge these children 
gain should help us establish a new constructive relationship with 
Russia that we all hope for. With such little-noticed but important 
changes, this rising generation of young Russians promises to produce a 
group of independent thinkers capable of accepting different points of 
view and carrying on with the business of building a prosperous, 
democratic, and peaceful Russia.

                          ____________________