Many foreign media today wrote about the legacy of the last leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. The New York Times published an article by Anton Troyanovsky, head of the publicationʼs Moscow bureau, which talks about the relationship between Gorbachev and Putin. For Putin, the collapse of the Soviet Union is the greatest tragedy of the century, and the culprit of this "catastrophe" is considered by the Russian dictator to be Mikhail Gorbachev, who, according to Putin, was too weak to resist the treacherous West. Troyanovsky believes that Putin is trying to "cancel Gorbachevʼs legacy" ― both in terms of territories and personal and political freedoms. Probably, the funeral of Gorbachev will take place without state honors, because their format has not yet been approved by the Kremlin. In March of this year, Novaya Gazeta, founded in part on the money received by Gorbachev from the Nobel Peace Prize, ceased operations due to censorship. Troyanovsky writes that Gorbachev did not speak publicly about a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine due to illness, but his foundation issued an official statement calling for peace talks to begin. At the same time, in 2014, Gorbachev supported the annexation of Crimea, and also criticized the West for "attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO."
The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal writes about the demonstrative Russian "court hearings" in Mariupol. Last week, the head of the so-called "DPR" Denis Pushylin said that the Mariupol "tribunal" will consider about 80 cases related to war crimes. These trials will be held over captured fighters of the Azov Regiment, which the Kremlin uses as propaganda to justify "denazification". Although there is a moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, the "DNR" government has previously sentenced three foreigners who fought on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to death. Pushylin also said that Syria, Belarus, Russia, and possibly North Korea would ensure the tribunalʼs "impartiality" as observers. The editors of WSJ believe that these courts grossly violate the Geneva Conventions and are another evidence of how Russia neglects international obligations, completely turning into a world pariah.
Politico writes what Russian schoolchildren are taught about Ukraine. The publication quotes Lenin, who believed that in four years children can be taught in such a way that it will be impossible to change their minds later. It seems that Putin is following the founder of the Soviet Union in this. Four days after the start of the full-scale war, the Russian Foreign Ministry held lectures for history and social studies teachers in Moscow, where they were told how to talk about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the history of Ukraine. Actually, the basis of the teaching of history in the Russian Federation is now contained in Putinʼs treatise "On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians", which denies the independence of Ukraine as a state. Children are even given surveys with questions like: "Do you support the Presidentʼs decision to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine?". In addition to children, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation plans to educate their parents so that "families share the values that are formed by the education system." The idea to conduct courses for adults also arose after the protest of a girl from Dagestan who spoke out against the war in Ukraine. Many curricula, the publication writes, were created specifically for the invasion of Ukraine and implemented immediately after February 24. Thus, the new version of the program of the subject "My country" for children aged 15-17 begins with the words: "Ukraine and Russia are two parts of a single historical, spiritual, and cultural space." Politico goes on to describe the content of this curriculum, with special attention to the events of 2014, and concludes that Lenin would probably be really proud of his follower.