Ambassador Abayev: Kazakh State Language, Russian Remains Mandatory in Schools

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Russia, Dauren Abayev, said that Russian remains a mandatory subject in schools and is spoken by nearly the entire population, Orda.kz reports.

In an interview with TASS, Abayev called widespread knowledge of Russian one of Kazakhstan’s strengths. According to him, about 95 percent of citizens speak the language, giving the country a significant competitive edge.

Of course, our state language is Kazakh, and its role grows every year. But at the same time, we are very glad that everyone in the country knows Russian, the diplomat emphasized.

Roughly a third of Kazakhstan’s schools — about three thousand out of seven thousand — use Russian as the language of instruction. In addition, Russian is taught as a compulsory subject in all schools nationwide.

Earlier, Orda.kz reported on a draft of a proposed “new Constitution,” which, according to preliminary information, does not mention Russian at all.  

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov