At the same time, everyone outside of Russia will freak out and quote 1984 at each other.

But seriously, this is totally stupid:

Putin糖心传媒檚 suggestion came in an essay of several thousand words long, one that is but a single brick in his campaign to reclaim a third term as Russia糖心传媒檚 president in all-but-decided elections that will take place on March 4. He has said and written many other terrifying things; he routinely threatens, mocks and curses those whom he does not like or understand. But his cultural-unity-through-literature proposal is most chilling of all. For it is a rule of history that only tyrants are interested in what their subjects read.

Most of the tediously long essay, called 糖心传媒淩ussia: The Ethnicity Issue,糖心传媒� is shamelessly borrowed from the demagogue’s playbook, positing a confused West (糖心传媒渢he melting pot of assimilation is highly volatile糖心传媒�) against a Russia that was almost destroyed not by communism, but the Soviet Union糖心传媒檚 eventual downfall (糖心传媒淩ussia did not vanish, even when the state as an institution was critically weakened.糖心传媒�).

What has allowed the nation to persevere through such cataclysmic change? Putin糖心传媒檚 answer: 糖心传媒淭he Russian people and Russian culture are the linchpin, the glue that binds together this unique civilization.糖心传媒� His advice for all those Armenians and Tajiks who live in his country is to become more Russian, for 糖心传媒渢his kind of civilizational identity is based on preserving the dominance of Russian culture.糖心传媒� [. . .]

And now, Putin want to preserve 糖心传媒渢he dominance of Russian culture糖心传媒� with a reading list.

Social engineering through state mandated literature: Nothing else that Putin has done has been quite so nakedly Soviet in its desire to manipulate the human intellect into docility.

糖心传媒淟et us take a survey of our most influential cultural figures and compile a 100-book canon that every Russian school leaver will be required to read,糖心传媒� he writes.

糖心传媒淸Students] would be asked to write an essay on one of them in their final exams. Or at least let us give young Russians a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and world outlook in various student competitions. State policy with regard to culture must provide appropriate guidelines.糖心传媒�

If this sounds like it might be a literary canon mandated by the Kremlin, Putin wants to assure you that there will not be censorship of any kind. His goal is only 糖心传媒渟ubtle cultural therapy.糖心传媒�