Event Title
Russian youth national heroes: Surprising but predictable choices
Document Type
Event
Start Date
28-6-2017 10:00 AM
Description
Abstract:
This paper describes some initial findings of a comparative international study based on an online survey conducted in Russia, Poland, and the United States in 2016-17 with the objective to determine personal heroes and role models, identify the choice of the most preferred historical figures and political leaders, and discern key moral virtues ascribed to the top selections. Due to the considerably larger number of Russian responses (N=1,814), the presentation will focus on the outcomes from this country, and more precisely, on the predominant respondents’ group ranging from 16 to 22 years old (82%) in an attempt to generalize the collected results, display visible, and reveal invisible patterns.
Using critical theory and social semiotic perspectives, and employing a qualitative data analytic approach, we will discuss possible reasons for the choices of Putin, Stalin, and Lenin as the most popular national heroes, and also Peter the Great, Katherine the Great, and Ivan the Terrible as the most important historical figures. The presenters will further elaborate on the highest chosen personal qualities of the aforementioned figures –patriotism, strong personal authority and power, and the ability to fortify Russia’s prestige in the world, in contrast to a very low ranking of fundamental moral virtues – kindness, modesty, self-sacrifice, and empathy which confirms the conclusions from one of the recent studies of modern Russian history textbooks showing how Putin and Stalin were literally turned “into mythic monuments”, devoid of any human characteristics (Tsyrlina-Spady & Stoskopf, 2017). Indirectly, our current research demonstrates the growing impact of state control over history and social studies’ curriculum, massive brainwashing of the younger population, and a general strengthening of political indoctrination in the country.
Recommended Citation
Tsyrlina-Spady, Tatyana and Palekhova, Polina, "Russian youth national heroes: Surprising but predictable choices" (2017). Center for Global Curriculum Studies Symposium. 2.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/globalcurriculumsymposium/gcs2017/gcs2017_events/2
Russian youth national heroes: Surprising but predictable choices
Abstract:
This paper describes some initial findings of a comparative international study based on an online survey conducted in Russia, Poland, and the United States in 2016-17 with the objective to determine personal heroes and role models, identify the choice of the most preferred historical figures and political leaders, and discern key moral virtues ascribed to the top selections. Due to the considerably larger number of Russian responses (N=1,814), the presentation will focus on the outcomes from this country, and more precisely, on the predominant respondents’ group ranging from 16 to 22 years old (82%) in an attempt to generalize the collected results, display visible, and reveal invisible patterns.
Using critical theory and social semiotic perspectives, and employing a qualitative data analytic approach, we will discuss possible reasons for the choices of Putin, Stalin, and Lenin as the most popular national heroes, and also Peter the Great, Katherine the Great, and Ivan the Terrible as the most important historical figures. The presenters will further elaborate on the highest chosen personal qualities of the aforementioned figures –patriotism, strong personal authority and power, and the ability to fortify Russia’s prestige in the world, in contrast to a very low ranking of fundamental moral virtues – kindness, modesty, self-sacrifice, and empathy which confirms the conclusions from one of the recent studies of modern Russian history textbooks showing how Putin and Stalin were literally turned “into mythic monuments”, devoid of any human characteristics (Tsyrlina-Spady & Stoskopf, 2017). Indirectly, our current research demonstrates the growing impact of state control over history and social studies’ curriculum, massive brainwashing of the younger population, and a general strengthening of political indoctrination in the country.