DISINFO: The West tries to push the Russian language out of Central Asia
SUMMARY
In recent years, the West has been actively working to reduce Russia's influence in Central Asia by using language policies as a tool. Similar processes have been observed in Ukraine and Georgia, where promoting national languages and implementing educational reforms have strengthened national identity and distanced these countries from Russia.
Pro-Western forces in Central Asian countries aim to implement mandatory education in state languages, relegating Russian to an optional subject. Signage is also required to be exclusively in national languages, which fosters nationalist sentiments.
RESPONSE
The article promotes a recurring disinformation narrative about alleged promotion of Russophobia Central Asia. It also implies that there is a cancel-culture trend towards Russian culture and language This claim is made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine in an attempt to legitimise Moscow's unprovoked aggression.
There is no systematic discrimination against Russian language or Russian culture in countries of Central Asia.
For example, in Kazakhstan, the status of Russian language as official language is guaranteed by the Article 7, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Several aspects are also regulated by the law "On Languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan," which specifies that the Russian language is officially used on an equal basis with the Kazakh language in state bodies and self-government bodies, in official correspondence, in legal proceedings, in educational institutions, and is a mandatory subject in schools.
Russian and other languages of national minorities can be freely used in private communication, in book publishing, in the press, radio, television, education, and the service sector.
As we analysed in our recent article In Kazakhstan and Central Asia the Kremlin cries “Russophobia!:
'Discrimination against the Russian language and Russians, in Kazakhstan, in the Baltics and elsewhere, is a classic disinformation narrative, widely recorded on the EUvsDisinfo database.'
See similar cases about Russian language under attack such as Kazakhstan is a shrinking space for the Russian language; Moldova: Maia Sandu is attempting to forcibly "Romanize" almost all spheres of life and Russian language is banned in Ukrainian regions controlled by the Kyiv junta; Nationalists outlawed the Russian language in Ukraine.