There will be a Russian language in Kyrgyzstan
«Rhythm of Eurasia», Olga Sumarokova – On October 27, the problems of the functioning of the Russian language in the countries of Central Asia in the context of its ever-increasing role as the main means of communication within the Eurasian association were discussed by the participants of the round table «Russian language in the EAEU: development prospects», organized by the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The head of the department, Viktor Nefedov, set the tone for a constructive dialogue, noting that the issue under discussion is of enduring importance, since the language situation in the region is changing dynamically and not in every country in a positive direction. In accordance with this, one of the missions of Rossotrudnichestvo in the region is to «protect the Russian language in some places, and in others, as, for example, in Kyrgyzstan, – help strengthen its position».
The official position of the Ministry of Education and Science on this issue was expressed in her speech by O. Head of the Department of International Cooperation and Investment Attraction of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic Chinara Maatkerimova. «Today, Kyrgyzstanis should know both Kyrgyz and Russian languages, – she emphasized. – Both of them should develop, complementing the multinational culture of Kyrgyzstan. We cannot oppose them to each other, since the Kyrgyz language is our native language, connection with the people, roots, and the Russian language –our cultural, educational and political wealth».
The director of the Russian Language Institute, which recently opened on the basis of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, Professor Mamed Tagaev, spoke about the linguistic aspirations of the Kyrgyz people. As an epigraph to his speech, he cited the following words of Chingiz Aitmatov: «There was a time when we seemed to be defending ourselves from the Russian language, defending our languages in order to preserve them, so that they would not lose their significance, would not completely disappear. After all, they were almost never used in official areas; our languages. And now, it seems to me, it’s another extreme. Now, on the contrary, we need to protect the Russian language in order to preserve it to the extent that we need it».
