History textbook author swears that his ‘revolutionary’ retelling of Ukraine's Maidan Revolution is actually ‘extremely negative’

One of the authors of a history textbook that has infuriated Russia’s Federation Council because it refers to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution as a “revolution” is firing back at senators, pointing out that the textbook’s overall assessment of the event is actually “extremely negative.”

According to Oleg Volobuyev, the word “revolution” appears in the context of “color revolutions,” placing the overthrow of the Yanukovych regime in the wider framework of civil resistance movements that Moscow has rejected as a Western plot to destabilize hostile nations. Volobuyev also highlights that the textbook was reviewed by experts and approved by the Education and Science Ministry.

Following complaints by the Federation Council, Russia’s Education and Science Ministry ordered an additional review of Volobuyev’s textbook by the Russian Academy of Sciences. It’s supposed to be finished by January 27.

The book’s publisher isn’t wasting any time, however. The textbook is already being republished with the controversial “revolution” terminology removed. The new edition describes Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution exclusively as a coup d’etat.