The Russian government plans to oversee the production of several “patriotic” video games, the first of which will release in 2014, according to the Russian cultural ministry.
Arseny Mironov, aide to Russia’s cultural minister Vladimir Medinsky, said, “a video game has to have not only an entertainment value, but it also has to teach and be conducive to patriotic education.” Furthermore, the cultural ministry is considering a ban on games that “distort historic facts” and “discredit the Russian soldier”. This is not surprising considering the Russian government’s ban of Company of Heroes 2, a game which officials felt painted Russian World War II soldiers in a negative light.
Members of the Russian Military History Society are currently in talks with Russian video game developers to produce the first game, which will be about Russia’s use of airplanes in World War I. Once the video game project is further along, there will also be government grants for development of more patriotic games.