'They are the priests': The role of the Moldovan historian and its implications for civic education

In present-day Moldova there is a perpetuation and continuity of Soviet academic culture, in which history is viewed as 'a science' and not subject to a multiplicity of interpretations. A relatively small and interconnected group of historians dominate the academy and subsequently the textbook writing. They wield a great deal of power in socializing national subjects. The special place of historians in society creates an obstacle for effective civic education in the Moldovan classroom because it creates educational hierarchy, which is detrimental to the development of those skills and virtues that are considered essential for democratic society.