Ukraine demands Spain withdraw school textbooks with “Russian” Crimea

The Embassy of Ukraine in Spain addressed the Minister of Education of the country with a demand to withdraw school textbooks, where the annexed Ukrainian Crimea is shown as part of Russia. Bohdan Dovhan, a Ukrainian living in Spain, was the first to report about the textbook on Facebook after his daughter who studies in a Madrid school showed him the map.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Spain thanked Dovhan for vigilance and action to defend national interests.

"Ambassador Sergiy Pogoreltsev immediately appealed to the Minister of Education and Training of Spain Pilar Alegría regarding a gross mistake made in the textbook 'Social Sciences' for the 6th grade of the school printed by publishing house 'Edelvives.' The issue of withdrawing the entire edition of this textbook from Spanish educational institutions was raised. Also, a request was made not to allow such textbooks, where the Crimean Peninsula is wrongly affiliated, for certification for educational institutions in Spain in the future," the Embassy wrote.

Separately, the embassy called on Ukrainians who find similar violations not only to publish posts on social networks but to turn to publishers and government agencies in countries where such cases have been recorded. "Collective appeals do their job," the Embassy said.

Earlier, after a public outcry and appeals of Ukrainian diplomats, the British publisher Oxford Press stopped distributing a textbook with Crimea misplaced in Russia. The French publishing house Larousse, which also issued an Atlas with Crimea depicted as Russian territory, corrected its mistake in the next edition of its atlas.

Related:

• Open Street Map decides to mark Crimea as Russian territory
• Russia brags about “Russian” Crimea in D​PRK atlas where South Korea “annexed” by North
• Larousse & Oxford Press place Crimea in Russia, sparking outrage; activists call for action
• French publisher Larousse continues selling Atlas with Crimea misplaced in Russia
• Oxford Press stopped distributing textbook with misplaced Crimea, Larousse silent
• Oxford Press pledges to replace textbooks with misplaced Crimea free of charge