The russian MOD’s main political directorate issued Politruk, a new journal for political instruction for the Armed Forces on May 22, 2024. The journal is intended to help political instructors in the Armed Forces in their political education of soldiers. An introductory article by Deputy Defense Minister Gen-Col Viktor Goremykin, who heads the Main Political Directorate of the Armed Forces, makes clear that the new journal draws heavily on the legacy of Soviet era military publications aimed at the political education of military personnel. A Main Political Directorate was set up in the MOD in 2018, as it was felt then that it was necessary to re-introduce political education into the Armed Forces, according to the UK Defense Intelligence.
Viktor Goremykin cites Stalin on the importance of political education of soldiers and the need to mortally hate the enemy. The journal emphasizes that the enemy in Ukraine today is the same as the enemy the Soviet Union was fighting, namely the Nazis. A map of Ukraine published in the journal is used to support arguments, casting doubt on the authenticity of Ukrainian statehood, and hence to justify the invasion.
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The magazine reflects the politicized use of history that has become a prominent feature of russian educational policy in recent years, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine, and continues to peddle the false narratives that russia has been using to influence its military personnel and population more generally.
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