Moscow, Mar 31 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the country needs a unified, standard approach in teaching history.

"I fully agree that there should be a canonical version of our history," Putin said during a meeting with his campaigners from the All-Russia People's Front.

He acknowledged there are different opinions concerning history textbooks in high schools, with some saying there should be a single standard in the viewpoint adopted when teaching Russian history, while others insist on the opposite.

"It might seem strange, but I agree with both of them. And these points of view can be reconciled," Putin said.

There should be one overall perspective adhered to in the textbook, the president said, but teachers should then explore different views on the same events and teach pupils to think for themselves.

Russian schools currently use a variety of history textbooks, which may contain various interpretations of the same events, especially those related to the Soviet era.

The same happens while narrating the history of republics populated by non-Russian ethnic groups that were not always part of the country.