Russia’s education minister on Wednesday accused fellow former Soviet republics of presenting what Moscow deems to be a distorted and overly negative portrayal of the Soviet Union and Russia in their school textbooks.

The comments come amid a broader push by the Kremlin to reassert its influence over historical narratives in the former Soviet sphere, as ties between Moscow and several neighboring states have frayed in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in the lower-house State Duma, Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov claimed that history education in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries suffers from “inconsistencies” that deviate from principles of objectivity and historicism.

Kravtsov noted that descriptions of the Soviet era “generally present Russia in a negative light.”

A 2024 Russian Academy of Sciences analysis of history textbooks from 11 countries, including former Soviet republics and countries in the Middle East, found that textbooks from some of these countries depict Russia as a colonial state and aggressor acting in its own interests.