The image of Romania in Ukrainian secondary school history textbooks for grades 10–11 (2018–2019 editions)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to study the image of Romania in Ukrainian history textbooks for grades 10–11, which were written and published during 2018–19, i.e. during the Russian-Ukrainian war that began in 2014. The methodology of the research consisted in counting and analysing mentions of the words Romania, Romanian, Romanians, etc. in 30 textbooks on the History of Ukraine, World History, and the integrated course History: Ukraine and the World for 10th and 11th grade students. Fourth-year students of the History Department of the Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsyubynsky State Pedagogical University counted the number of mentions with positive, negative, and neutral connotations in each textbook. The results of the count were analysed in a historical and methodological context. Scientific novelty. Textbooks for 11th grade paint a more positive picture of Romania than textbooks for 10th grade. World history textbooks contain more references with positive connotations than textbooks on Ukrainian history and integrated courses, since when describing events in world history, authors focus more on non-controversial aspects of Ukrainian-Romanian relations but on world-level events, the confrontation between socialism and capitalism, totalitarianism and democracy, world wars, the development of international integration, etc. Conclusions. In Ukrainian history textbooks for grades 10 and 11, the image of Romania changes from that of an aggressive and totalitarian country to a victim of totalitarianism, and then evolves into a modern state, a member of the EU and NATO, and Ukraine's partner in the fight against Russian aggression. The authors of the textbooks obviously find it difficult to explain the Ukrainian-Romanian territorial disputes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It seems that the authors are unsure how to interpret modern Ukrainian-Romanian relations, and no consolidated opinion on this subject has been developed. On the one hand, there is an understanding that Romania is an ally in the fight against Russian aggression and a member of NATO and the EU, which Ukraine aspires to join. On the other hand, there are territorial disputes that are difficult to interpret without damaging the image of the partner. This is an issue that requires a joint decision by historians in the near future. The work of an international Ukrainian-Romanian expert group, similar to the Ukrainian-Polish expert commission, would be entirely appropriate.