The works of Russian poet Gavrila Derzhavin were also not included in the program.
“From this academic year, neither M. Lomonosov nor G. Derzhavin will remain in the native language and literature program for the ninth grade of the Russian national minority,” the ministry told BNS.
Both authors are attributed to classicism and Enlightenment literature.
BNS wrote that Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius proposed in August to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport to amend the General Education School programs adopted in 2022 and “no longer teach Lithuanian students patriotism and citizenship from the texts of M. Lomonosov, a writer who glorified the imperial wars of Russia.”
He also proposed to include the Ukrainian literary classic Taras Shevchenko in school programs. The Prime Minister’s initiative received favorable evaluation from the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science.
T. Shevchenko was not included in the education programs. According to the ministry, a deeper program analysis is required before making such a decision.
“This year we will pay special attention to reviewing the authors named in the native language and literature program for the Russian national minorities. It is not enough to remove one or another name and insert another,” the ministry emphasized. “It is necessary to professionally assess which authors and their literary works shape the attitudes of students of the Russian national minority living in Lithuania, how their value foundation is constructed.”
In addition, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport noted that it is important to ensure that the works of newly included authors are accessible to schools.
M. Lomonosov was an 18th-century Russian scientist and writer who discovered that Venus has an atmosphere. He wrote scientific and literary works, including “A Letter on the Rules of Russian Versification,” the ode “On the Occasion of the Capture of Khotyn,” and the treatise “A Word on the Usefulness of Chemistry.”
G. Derzhavin was an 18th–19th-century Russian poet whose work helped give rise to Russian Romanticism. His famous work is the ode “Felitsa,” dedicated to Catherine II.
