Omitting the past's darker chapters.(the politics of teaching Russian history) From: Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) | Date: June 1, 2005| Author: Rodriguez, Alex | COPYRIGHT 2005 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: Alex Rodriguez

MOSCOW _ Russians remember the Siege of Leningrad _ a brutal, 872-day blockade of Russia's second-largest city by Nazi troops that killed 1.7 million people _ as a dark, crucial moment in their history. Yet one of the most popular history textbooks in Russian classrooms casually distills the event into a mere four words.

"German troops blockaded Leningrad."

Glaring omissions abound in Nikita Zagladin's textbook, "History of R...