FORMATION OF HISTORICAL MEMORY: THE REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY IN UKRAINIAN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

Abstract

The article analyzes the events of the Revolution of Dignity in 2013–2014 through the lens of their representation in Ukrainian school textbooks on contemporary Ukrainian history. It is noted that relevant state authorities systematically paid attention to the issue of covering revolutionary events in textbooks for 11th-grade students in order to form stable moral and value orientations among schoolchildren. The study emphasizes that the phenom-enon of Maidan was presented as an example of self-sacrifice and the struggle for human rights and dignity. It is highlighted that in Ukrainian textbooks, the events of the Revolution of Dignity were positioned as a peaceful protest against an undemocratic regime, which escalated into large-scale confron-tations with state institutions. The article observes that the coverage of the Revolution of Dignity in textbooks combined factual material with an emo-tionally and value-oriented approach, which in the long term enables students to comprehend the significance of these events for the development of the 

Ukrainian state. Special attention was given by textbook authors to the hero-ism of the Heavenly Hundred as a symbol of national unity and citizens’ moral choice at critical historical junctures. Specific examples illustrate attempts by certain political forces to revise the representation of the Revolution of Dignity in school textbooks and to «whitewash» the actions of central authorities, particularly the ex-president and traitor of Ukraine, V. Yanukovych. The article also notes that textbooks addressed the social and political consequences of the Revolution of Dignity for Ukraine and its international image, highlighting the role of volunteer and civic initiatives in supporting the protest movement and assisting the victims.