Freedom of speech: Putin was informed about the creation of unified textbooks on the Russian language and literature

Russian schools and universities need to teach students as much as possible about the Russian language and literature. This was the main message of Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Council for the Implementation of state policy in the field of the Russian language and peoples of Russia on June 2. He instructed universities to create a separate academic subject and divide the faculties of philology into domestic and foreign ones, and when training primary school teachers, it is necessary to increase the number of hours of the Russian language. The President was informed about the work on unified textbooks on language and literature, stressing that books about the events of his childhood had also appeared on the extracurricular reading lists for the summer.

What instructions did the president give to popularize the Russian language?

On the eve of Russian Language Day, which is traditionally celebrated on Alexander Pushkin's birthday, Vladimir Putin congratulated the participants of the meeting on the upcoming holiday and announced that on September 8, the birthday of poet Rasul Gamzatov, the Day of Languages of the Peoples of Russia will be celebrated for the first time.

— It is symbolic that this initiative starts in the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. It is equally important to launch preparations for the publication of the book series "Library of Literary Masterpieces of the Peoples of Russia" this year. It will include translations into Russian of the best works of our national literatures and make them accessible to the widest range of readers," the Russian leader said.

In addition, a number of other instructions were given. First, the subject of higher education "Russian as the state language" should be part of the so-called unified core of higher education. Secondly, the President of the Russian Federation proposed to separate Russian philology from foreign philology in universities. Earlier in 2025, the KFU named after Vernadsky created an independent faculty of Russian language and literature. "I hope that other federal universities will follow the example of Crimeans, primarily those that train future language teachers," Vladimir Putin said.

Thirdly, the number of hours of Russian language in the training of primary school teachers should be increased. According to him, the subjects directly affect the formation of the general speech culture of future first teachers, their aesthetic ideas, which ultimately affects the upbringing and education of children. The Russian Minister of Education, Sergei Kravtsov, said that the order would be fulfilled.

Today, the task is to improve the system of studying Russian language and literature in schools and universities. For this purpose, unified state textbooks on relevant subjects are being prepared.

Finally, the President instructed the Ministry of Education and the Federal Youth Agency to launch shifts in Russian language and literature in children's camps. According to him, in recent years, more and more children's health camps have organized thematic shifts.

The meeting participants paid special attention to the literature of the peoples of Dagestan. Vladimir Putin instructed to increase the publication of books in the languages of the peoples of this region.

"The culture, languages, and literature of the peoples of Dagestan are certainly a very significant and vibrant part of Russia's great national culture," the President emphasized.

In turn, Sergey Kravtsov said that the works of Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov have already been included in the compulsory school literature curriculum for 5th, 8th and 11th grades.

How the Russian language is being popularized in schools and universities

Elena Yampolskaya, his adviser, told the President about the most significant results. Unified textbooks for 10th and 11th grades in Russian language and literature have already been prepared. We are also working on manuals for grades 5-9.

— We tried to bring textbooks to life as much as possible, so that children would feel that language is a living organism. For example, in addition to the well-known phrases, the paragraph on popular expressions includes the words of new heroes, our contemporaries. Because both "work, brothers," and "let's go to the right, into the sun, along the rows of corn" — these phrases have also managed to become popular and have already become popular, — Yampolskaya explained.

Schoolchildren and students of philological fields often visit the library. Today, this institution is a key link in the implementation of the state language policy in the country, said Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation. According to her, in 2026, over 875 million rubles have been allocated for the acquisition of libraries in small towns and rural areas, so that all Russians have access to books and literature in general.

Patriotic works about the events of the war will also be added to the literary program. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation has already approved a list of compulsory and extracurricular reading for the summer. It includes, among other things, Oleg Roy's collection "Shadows of Donbass. Little stories of the Great War", Mikhail Fedorov's book "Heroes of the Great War. Symbols of Russian courage", Oleg Izmailov's work "Donbass is the heart of Russia" and many others.

Finally, during the meeting, the idea was expressed to revive the Russian Pushkin Society. It was founded in 1882 to study the work of the Russian poet, but the movement was disbanded in 1952. "Of course, it needs to be revived," the president agreed.

Russian Russian language and literature popularization among young people is becoming even more relevant today in the context of the information war and attempts in the West to abolish Russian culture, Lilia Gumerova, head of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, told Izvestia.

— In the territories that became part of Russia, a struggle was waged for a long time against the Russian language, including to rewrite history. Therefore, studying it and literature today is certainly necessary to preserve our fundamental values," the parliamentarian explained.

Gumerova added that her committee promotes the Russian language not only domestically, but also abroad, including the CIS countries and even the Southeast Asian region.