A Gesture of Goodwill? Expert Comments on Russian Langauge Organization

In November 2024, the Kazakh parliament ratified the treaty establishing the International Organization for the Support and Promotion of the Russian Language. An Orda.kz correspondent looked into the matter.

The organization was founded in October 2023 at the CIS summit in Bishkek. The initiative to create it belongs to the President of Kazakhstan, Qasym-Jomart Toqayev. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed placing the organization's headquarters in Sochi. 

The organization aims to strengthen the Russian language's position as a means of interstate and interethnic communication. Among the stated goals are supporting its status in international organizations such as the UN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU, and SCO and promoting the Russian language and culture. 

Ratification Process

After the treaty was signed in Bishkek, it was sent to other CIS countries for ratification:

Russia – The State Duma and the Federation Council promptly approved the agreement at the end of October 2023.

Kazakhstan — The republic's parliament approved ratification in November 2023. Kazakhstan's active participation in creating the structure was crucial.

Belarus – The parliament of the republic ratified the treaty in December 2023.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – Ratified in January 2024.

Other CIS countries expressed their readiness to support the initiative. For example, Uzbekistan and Armenia announced their intention to join after a detailed analysis of the conditions for participation.

Structure and Plans

The organizational structure has not yet been formed. Until its full launch, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation temporarily performs the secretariat's functions. Practical activities are planned to begin in the fall of 2024.

Among the main objectives of the organization:

• Conducting educational and cultural programs.
• Support for the teaching of the Russian language in participating countries.
• Popularization of Russian literature, art, and culture outside the CIS.
• Providing grants and scholarships for students and scholars studying the Russian language.

Political scientist Gaziz Abishev commented on the initiative to create the organization. The Russian language is a "soft power" tool for Putin's policy, and its development indicates Russia's continued status as a serious player in the international arena. 

In the context of Russia's war against Ukraine, the Russian language is not the main, not the only, but one of the triggers that has caused such aggressive actions against Ukraine. Not only that: it is, of course, also Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO and political rhetoric towards Russia, and so on. Language is a painful topic for Russia, which is why it is promoting it. This may not only and not so much be Toqayev's exclusive initiative, but a topic that came into being in the context of negotiations. Supposedly, it would be nice if another country, not Russia, put it forward, said the political scientist. 

The expert noted that Kazakhstan has always soberly assessed the balance of power on the continent and understood where it needed to be firm and where it needed to be flexible. 

The growth of passionarity regarding the state language in Kazakhstan to a certain extent thickened the clouds in relations between the two countries. So this is rather a gesture of goodwill and at the same time a pragmatic move to appease and at the same time a response to some aspirations of its ally. All this together resulted in Kazakhstan's initiative to create an Organization for the Support of the Russian Language. I do not think that this changes anything in any way, it is rather a symbolic move,
 added the political scientist.  

The expert noted that the Russian language continues to retain its functionality in Kazakhstan, but the state emphasizes developing the state language. This is primarily due to demographics - Qandasy from neighboring regions are actively migrating to Kazakhstan, and at the same time, the Russian-speaking population is declining. 

Therefore, the organization can act as actively as it wants, but in Kazakhstan, the main trend is the development of the state language, but not to the detriment of Russian. Will the existence of this organization lead to a real expansion of the area of ​​the Russian language? It is also doubtful because crude market laws operate here, and it is clear that the main expansionist force in the world is the English language, which is spoken by many people in many countries of the world. It is unlikely that the Russian language will be able to catch up with the English language in the coming decades, Gaziz Abishev summed up. 

He called the organization's creation more of a diplomatic gesture than a political one.

A year ago, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk took part in the XIX Interregional Forum of Cross-Border Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia in Qostanay.

He thanked President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev for the initiative to establish the international organization for the Russian language. Overchuk also shared plans for cooperation between the two countries in education.

In particular, he announced his intention to build three Russian schools in the south of Kazakhstan.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov