Head of the Russian World Fund judges the position of the Russian language in post-Soviet space
Author: VK
One of the largest higher education centers in Istanbul, Fatih University, opened a room called “Russian World” in December. It is located in an auditorium of the department of Russian language and literature at the Faculty of Natural and Humanitarian Sciences, where the Russian language is taught. The idea to open such rooms in foreign states belongs to the Russian World Fund, popularizing the language and promoting Russian cultural heritage. Vyacheslav Nikonov, a political analyst and head of the fund, talked about the Russian language in post-Soviet republics and topical political issues in an interview with VK.
- What is the peculiarity of the position of the Russian language in post-Soviet space?
- The position of the Russian language in post-Soviet space is a unique case for each state. If we take the Baltic states, there is obvious discrimination against the Russian language, with an increased interest in the language expressed by the population. The situation in Ukraine improved with the coming of Yanukovitch to power, it worsened in Moldova with the arrival of the Democratic Choice Party. There are no problems with the Russian language in Belarus. There are major problems in Georgia, where the Russian language has become a rarity, an expensive rarity, but the children of the elites study Russian. The language is returning to higher educational centers in Armenia, but not to schools. The Azerbaijani elite is Russian-speaking, but the Russian language is somewhat declining. There are no serious problems in Kazakhstan. There are big problems in Uzbekistan. There is a highly-unfulfilled demand for the Russian language in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The language is dying out in Turkmenistan.
- And a question for you as a political analyst. How would you evaluate the president’s message to the Federal Assembly, in particular the idea to reinstate gubernatorial elections?
- The reinstatement of gubernatorial elections was announced by Vladimir Putin in his conversation with Russian citizens. Dmitry Medvedev repeated the idea, but he did not clarify it. Putin’s proposal included a certain system of filters, consisting of introducing candidates from political parties, on the one hand, and presidential approval or disapproval of a candidate, on the other hand. Medvedev only talked about elections, but said nothing about the procedure. It is an issue where the devil will be in the details. Why did the idea of gubernatorial elections return? Certainly, it is not because it is more or less related to democracy of the political system. For example, in Europe, there are no direct gubernatorial elections in any state, but the countries are still democratic. It means that the governors appointed at the moment were not strong politicians. Nonetheless, a governor recognized by voters as a legitimate figure that had gone through the furnace of the electoral battle will be a stronger political backbone of power than a governor appointed or one lacking connection with voters, avoiding higher ratings, having their own ratings contributing to the common rating of the head of state, head of government or authority of a political party.
