Recent years have seen the possibility of introducing into scientific circulation declassified documents of the highest state and political bodies, public organizations, and the spiritual directorates of Muslims, which until now were unknown in wide circles. They allow us to examine the forms and methods of activity of the Soviet state in building relationships with Muslims and to identify the directions, principles, and features of the work of state and public organizations in this sphere. A characteristic feature of religious policy in the late 1960s, one of the main conductors of which was the Council for Religious Affairs under the USSR Council of Ministers, established in December 1965, was the creation of a picture of the harmony of religious life and prosperity of religious organizations in the country. The Soviet Union demonstrated to the world that Soviet Muslims, like their co-religionists from other states, could go on Hajj to Saudi Arabia. The quantity of Hajj travelers from the USSR was extremely small and there was a huge disproportion not only between them and the number of Muslims who wanted to perform Hajj but also between the number of applications received by the organizers of the Hajj and the authorities, including the Council for Religious Affairs. At the same time, the heads of Muslim spiritual administrations could travel to Hajj several times. Analysis of archival documents discovered in 2022 showed the attitude to Muslims who made the Hajj from several angles: from the Soviet state, ordinary Muslims of the USSR, the authorities and Muslims of the countries visited by Soviet pilgrims during their journey, such as Sudan and Egypt. Very revealing is the attitude towards the Soviet pilgrims from the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ranging from ordinary people to the authorities, including the king.

The focal point of this study is the analysis of textbooks and educational materials dedicated to the events of World War II and the Great Patriotic War. The research draws on books published in eight post-Soviet states: the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, Ukraine, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Tajikistan. The authors aim to assess the extent to which the historical truth regarding these two major wars of the twentieth century is preserved in these countries, or whether the causes, events, and outcomes of these wars are misrepresented. This study aligns with recent legislative measures in the Russian Federation, including amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Presidential Decree No. 400 “On the Strategy of National Security of the Russian Federation” (2 July 2021), and the Presidential Decree No. 611 “On Approving the Concept of Humanitarian Policy of the Russian Federation Abroad” (5 September 2022). These documents emphasize the careful and impartial study of the history of Russian statehood at all stages of its development. A key milestone in this context is the Great Patriotic War, which, in some countries that were once part of the USSR, has been reassessed from perspectives that foster the “detachment” of both younger generations — schoolchildren and students — and older generations from the heroic past of their countries. This state-driven approach is intertwined with the shaping of public opinion aimed at distorting the image of true heroes and creating myths about how many opponents of Soviet power were supposedly representatives of the national interests of the majority of the populations in certain national republics of the USSR. As evidenced by the case of Ukraine, this trajectory — specifically, the establishment of a state-sanctioned nationalist ideology — leads not only to societal division but also to civil unrest.