Pressure on the Russian language intensifies in Kyrgyzstan

The writer and diplomat Chingiz Aitmatov has repeatedly said that the Kyrgyz and Russian languages ​​are two wings of the same bird. “The state language is determined not by the will of politicians, but by a vital necessity,” he noted in an interview with journalists from the Russian Language portal. Kyrgyzstan remains one of three former Soviet republics where Russian is the official language, albeit with legal restrictions. In the most friendly republic of Central Asia, it is spoken by about 40% of the population, although Russians themselves are already less than 5% there. But in the last couple of years, the policy of the authorities began to change.

Under the guise of protecting the state language, the country is considering a new law that threatens to infringe on the rights of Russian-speaking citizens. All state employees will have to learn Kyrgyz, otherwise they will be fired. The initiative on January 18 was supported by the parliament in the first reading, and the country launched a month of the native language, the international day of which is celebrated on February 21. The initiative comes from pro-Western politicians and, if implemented, it could upset Russian-Kyrgyz relations, experts say.