როგორ მიმდინარეობდა საისტორიო აზროვნების ტრანსფორმაცია საქართველოს სასკოლო სახელმძღვანელოებში (1987-1991)

Abstract

Within the Soviet Union, history occupied a central place among the social sciences taught in schools. Historical knowledge was regarded as an integral component of the scientific worldview and a crucial source for the formation of communist morality, as well as an essential indicator of an individual’s cultural level. According to Soviet ideological doctrine, this social function of historical knowledge acquired increasing importance in the context of the acute ideological struggle between socialism and capitalism on the international stage. In the course of this research, we analyzed several history textbooks and curricula published during the Soviet period. The changes are particularly evident in the presentation of nineteenth and twentieth century Georgian history. Compared to the 1987 curriculum, by 1990 Georgian school textbooks offered a more thorough discussion of the Tergdaleulebi, while the rigid class-based framework was significantly dismantled. The history of Georgia between 1918 and 1921 was examined in detail, and the very terminology used is noteworthy: the state proclaimed by socialists was referred to as a Democratic Republic. Nevertheless, the arrival of British, Turkish, and German forces continued to be described as the invasion of foreign interventionists. The Act of 26 May 1918 was discussed, with explicit reference to the fact that the Georgian nation had struggled for 117 years to achieve independence an interpretation absent from earlier curricula, which failed to acknowledge the sustained national struggle for independence. The same program also addressed the Treaty of 7 May 1920, emphasizing that, in light of newly available materials and conceptual approaches, the events of February 1921 should be explained as a violation of the treaty by Soviet Russia, which established Soviet rule in Georgia through the use of the Red Army. It was explicitly stated that Georgia did not voluntarily unite with Russia but instead once again lost its independence. In the history courses for grades 10-11, particular attention was devoted to national policy. The curriculum emphasized Georgia’s diversity and underscored that all efforts were directed toward protecting the constitutional rights of the Georgian nation and achieving full sovereignty. The August Uprising of 1924 was examined in depth and characterized as a national liberation movement. The reasons for its defeat were analyzed, along with the severe repressions that claimed the lives of many Georgian patriots. Unlike earlier programs, the tragic events of 9 March 1956 and 9 April 1989 in Tbilisi were presented comprehensively and accompanied by explicit evaluations. Despite these significant changes, notable similarities remained between the 1987 and 1990 curriculum. Most strikingly, neither mentioned the Stalinist repressions of 1937, the topic was entirely omitted, with no discussion of who fell victim to these repressions or why. Secondly, in both programs the beginning of the Second World War was dated to 1941. There was no reference to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, nor to Soviet military actions against Poland or Finland.