The Russian government is starting a new program to award grants to domestic developers who produce the Russian army a "historically truthful," "positive" and "patriotic" manner.
Speaking to Russian newspaper Izvestiya, Arseny Mironov an aide to the Russian culture minister questioned the historical authenticity of most war games which, he believes, paint the Russian army in an unflattering and "unrealistic" manner.
"The main thing that we expect from game makers is that they reflect events realistically and with the maximum historical authenticity, avoiding the creation of a negative image of a Russian soldier," he said.
"The game should not only be entertaining, but also improve cognitive functions and promote patriotic education."
And Mironov is not the only Russian official with this point of view. In fact, the Russian culture minister and the Russian Military Historical Society have launched a program to address those concerns. The program kicks off with a single game scheduled for release in 2014. The game is based on Russian military aviation during the First World War.
Other games will follow in the same series that aims to give a "historically accurate" portrayal of the Russian military's role in history.
Under the same program, the Russian government will also award grants to domestic developers who produce games conforming to the ministry's list of criteria. The main criteria is "historical truth" and the portrayal of "a positive image of national culture".
Furthermore, the Ministry of Culture is considering its options to control the content of foreign games sold inside the country.
According to Mironov, the Russian Ministry of Culture is not satisfied that "the majority of military video games arriving in the country discredit the image of a Russian soldier and do not portray the historical truth." As an example, Mironov cited Company of Heroes which – according to him - "introduces a veteran of World War II in the form of a felon who runs around with a grenade launcher and burns civilian homes".
