Russian textbooks say Trump lost in rigged election

A new textbook for Russian students claims former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election due to voter fraud committed by the Democrats.

Images from the history book, which is reportedly used by students in the 11th (graduating) grade, have circulated on social media in recent days. Marc Bennetts, foreign correspondent for The Times (U.K.), posted a page from the book on Monday onto his X (formerly Twitter) account, translating that the book said Trump lost the election "as a result of obvious electoral fraud by the Democratic Party."

Trump and some of his allies are facing criminal charges, accused of attempting to interfere with the results of the 2020 election that President Joe Biden handily won, and Trump's claims of the election being rigged against him have been widely debunked in courts of law and elsewhere.

Trump has also been criticized for dishing out compliments to Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he has condemned Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Still, some Russian analysts have suggested that the Kremlin may prefer Trump winning in 2024 over Biden.

Konstantin Sonin, professor at the University of Chicago who frequently writes about Russian politics, also shared the Russian textbook's false claims about the 2020 election on X.

When contacted for more information about the textbook, Sonin provided Newsweek with a PDF copy of the book. He also told Newsweek that he didn't doubt the authenticity of its contents and that the book's publication was announced earlier this year during a press conference by the book's authors and Sergei Kravstov, Russia's minister of education.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Education via email on Tuesday night for comment.

The Reverse Cargo Cult it is. The new World History textbook for high schools in Russia quietly informs kids that Donald Trump was denied presidency in 2020 as a result of "obvious falsifications" by the Democratic Party. The "reverse cargo cult" is a staple of authoritarian… pic.twitter.com/3sztTO7C7c

— Konstantin Sonin (@k_sonin) December 26, 2023

On Tuesday, Bennetts posted another excerpt from the textbook onto X, which included a photograph of Biden wearing a mask designed to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.

According to Bennetts, the excerpt made unproven claims about the president.

"On (masked) Biden from the same Russian school textbook 'His entire political career has been accompanied by corruption scandals. He and his family have commercial interests in Ukraine,'" Bennetts wrote.

On (masked) Biden from the same Russian school textbook "His entire political career has been accompanied by corruption scandals. He and his family have commercial interests in Ukraine." https://t.co/hTJVctaMDK pic.twitter.com/WFm9ogsgAI

— Marc Bennetts (@marcbennetts1) December 26, 2023

Since Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Biden has been one of Kyiv's strongest allies and has continued to pledge support for the country in its efforts to defend itself against Russia. Biden has also publicly disparaged Putin by calling the Russian leader a "pure thug" and a "murderous dictator."

In Kremlin-controlled media, Biden is frequently criticized, whereas Russian journalists often cover Trump more favorably.