Russia’s college aptitude exam reportedly to include Ukraine war veterans alongside historical figures

Source: Meduza

The history section of Russia’s 2025 college aptitude test, the Unified State Exam (EGE), will include the names of 11 participants in the war in Ukraine alongside historical figures, Verstka reports, citing a study guide of approved exam questions it claims to have reviewed.

According to Verstka, one question will require students to match historical events with their participants. Among the names listed are Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat Special Forces; Kanamat Botashev, a pilot killed early in the full-scale war; and Olga Kachura, a colonel in the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, who died in Horlivka in the summer of 2022. Of the 30 possible variations of this question, Verstka states that the “special operation” is mentioned in 21.

Another question reportedly lists historical figures such as Peter the Great alongside Damir Islamov, a 25-year-old tank operator killed in the Luhansk region, as well as his comrades, medics, paratroopers, and Vladimir Zhoga, commander of the Sparta Battalion.