In the former republics of the USSR, they began to forget the Russian language: can this be changed
– Yes, if I were an Indian of advanced years, I would have learned Russian for that … And for what? Photo: Valery SHUSTOV / RIA Novosti
My yours don’t understand anymore
The Russian Foreign Ministry is creating a department of “soft power”. He will work in the field of culture and science and sports and arts and will also deal with youth exchanges.
“It is planned that the new department will take over the general policy of the Russian Federation in the field of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation, the definition of priorities on this track …” – said on Smolenskaya Square.
If you get out of the verbal diplomatic quagmire and put it simply, that is, in Russian, you will get the following: the Foreign Ministry is going to promote Russia with the help of culture, science and language, and this will be done primarily through the youth.
It is high time. Over the past 30 years, the number of foreigners who study the great and the mighty has decreased by half. If in the early 90s there were about 75 million of them, today it is good if there are at least 35 million. In the Balkans, which are considered the main spiritual pillar of Russia in Europe, there were 38 million Russian language learners in 1990, and 8 million remained in 2015.
In the post-Soviet space, in the former republics of the USSR, and now in the great independent powers, it is even worse.
Changed the alphabet – write wasted
The Moldavian authorities were the first to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet, even during the Soviet era. In August 1989, the government of the republic decided on the Popular Front, abolished the Cyrillic alphabet and introduced Romanian spelling in the Latin alphabet for the Moldovan language. At the same time, Pridnestrovie still writes in Cyrillic.
This example was followed almost immediately after secession in Turkmenistan. The “hated” Cyrillic alphabet was replaced by the “independent” Latin alphabet already in April 1993 by the decree of President Saparmurat Niyazov.
In November of the same year, the Latin alphabet won in Uzbekistan.
Azerbaijan lasted longer – officially Cyrillic alphabet until 2001. But the decision that the country is switching to new rails of writing was made already in 1992.
Kazakhstan, too, will soon forget about “a” and “b”. They plan to switch to the Latin script completely by 2025.
Along with the letter, the language is quite understandable. The number of people speaking and thinking in the territory, in the territories of “priority attention” after the parade begins to decline sharply. In the 90s, almost 119.5 million people spoke Russian in the former Soviet republics. Today – only 82.5 million. Russian speech shrinks, but the language conflicts of the local population with the Russians are regular, like the holiday of Ligo or Eid al-Adha.
Remember the Uzbek Chirchik? There, at the beginning of October this year, simple leaflets appeared in shops and transport throughout the city, using Uzbek instead of Russian. Each poster has one word – in Uzbek and in Russian. There is a green check mark in front of the Uzbek, and a red cross for the Russian. Everything would be fine, such propaganda could be attributed to the enthusiasm of local nationalists, only the action was organized by the city authorities – they explained that they wanted to support the state language.
The Parliament of Kazakhstan is adopting a law according to which signs, signs, announcements, price lists, price tags, menus and advertisements in the country will be in Kazakh. Russian and other languages will be read only “if necessary”.
They want, but cannot?
Experts believe that instead of managing “soft power”, a Foreign Ministry is being created. In turn, Rossotrudnichestvo: the department has already opened Russian Houses around the world, is actively promoting culture and science. And then there is the Russian Humanitarian Mission (RGM). Their profile is delivering aid to those in need and supporting those who study Russian as a foreign language.
– Do many people speak Russian now?
– If you do not take Russia (146 million people), then another 110 – 120 million. This is not much, given that 50 million of them are Belarus and Ukraine, ”says Tatyana Orlova, deputy director of the Russian State Museum.
– The rest do not want or cannot learn the language?
– They want to, but often they cannot. There are not enough books, materials, classes. And there are not so many teachers. At the same time, Russian is still the language of interethnic communication throughout the image of the former USSR.
– Do you take books abroad?
– We even do repairs in classrooms. Everything on a turnkey basis – from linoleum to master classes for teachers. We buy materials for repairs and office equipment locally, and we bring the methodological base from Russia. So we have already done 20 classes and literary corners in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon.
– 20 classes is not enough …
– Yes, not much, but at the same time we donated 152 thousand books to schools, kindergartens and libraries abroad. And how many children learn from them? Hundreds of children pass through one classroom and one teacher per week. Tomorrow they will tell something about Russia (an interesting fact, they will teach some words) to ten of their friends. One or two of them will be interested. So, drop by drop, there will be more people who are interested in language and culture.
– Do you only do education?
– No. Transportable humanitarian aid on a regular basis. The other day another cargo was sent to Syria. We help medicine in different countries.
AND HOW DO THEM?
American Soft Power
The United States has been imposing its values on the world for decades. In line through movies and music, but in the offices of the State Department they know a lot about direct action actions. Any young person who wants to can go to the United States for a “study tour” for free. For example, according to the work and travel program – you go to the USA for three months, work two of them, and travel for a month. Until recently, this program was very popular, for example, among Belarusians.
Or the “Open World” program of the US Library of Congress, when small groups of young active professionals go to the United States for a week-long internship in their field for free. For example, doctors from Volgograd or lawyers from Chelyabinsk.
The purpose of such trips is to exchange experience, but … The first two days of the groups are spent in Washington. There they are given excursions and lectures. About the history of the United States, the electoral system and about the “young leaders” who are present in all of those present. No, these seminars do not recruit contracts for cooperation with the American house and the Department of State, but phrases like “perfect electoral system …”, “historical leadership …” etc. slip through the proposal. After the third hour you start to think: “But how well everything is arranged here!”
Then you are thrown into the region for a week. There is already propaganda – the pure life of the American hinterland: trips to cafes, “to work” and meetings with the governor.
And it’s all completely free. At the expense of the American Congress.
Does this scheme work? Works. Thousands of people participate in the program. When they return home, they tell their friends how good it is overseas.
Maybe the new department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is being created in the corridor of a skyscraper on Smolenskaya Square, should think about something similar? Is it expensive to bring a group of 50 people for a week to Russia once a year? Probably not cheap. There are funds for all sorts of pretentious events, festivals and congresses, the benefits of which are highly questionable. Will the expense pay off with the loyalty of the sightseers? Undoubtedly.
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