Over the past few years, attacks on the Russian language have intensified in Kyrgyzstan. On the one hand, these attacks are needed to “gain points” in the political field of the country, on the other hand, they are a kind of opportunity to distract the population from real economic problems, of which there are many in the country, the Stanradar Internet portal writes.
The language theme in the country is perceived quite painfully. There are several reasons for this. One of them is the constant migration of the Russian-speaking population. Accordingly, people from the regions come to their place.
In 2003, a study was conducted in which 53% of Kyrgyz and 35% of Russians took part. 52% answered in Kyrgyz and 37% in Russian. According to the chosen language of answers, it became clear that for some Kyrgyz, the Russian language is more convenient to use than the supposedly native Kyrgyz.
A little later, in 2006, the Oi-Pikir Public Opinion Research Center, together with the Eurasian Research Institute, conducted an interesting sociological study in which respondents were asked the question: “How do you feel about the hypothetical deprivation of the Russian language of official status?”
From the respondents' answers, it turned out that 57.1% did not support this idea. Rather do not support - 26.6%. Only 3.7% of the population fully supported this idea.
Since then, 16 years have passed. More "fresh" data was not found. Is it possible that it is worth conducting such a study again?, asks the media.
In 2009, a population census was conducted in Kyrgyzstan. 71% of residents indicated that they are native speakers of the Kyrgyz language. At the same time, 50% of the respondents said that they began to learn Russian. Native speakers of the Russian language were 9% of the population.
In 2011, when it was possible to choose the language of the survey, 31% of respondents answered in Russian, all the same - 52% answered in Kyrgyz. At the same time, 52% of the participants indicated that they were brought up in a Kyrgyz-speaking family and 44% in a Russian-speaking one. 44% include not only those who consider Russian the first language of communication, but also those who do not consider it as such.
Back in 2012, Irina Karamushkina, a deputy from the SDPK (Social-democratic) party, said in an interview that, having arrived in the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan, she was faced with the fact that university students no longer spoke Russian, but at the same time they understood Russian.
Since 2015, when applying to the state structures of Bishkek for work, it is required to know and speak the Kyrgyz language. One of the residents of the capital said that when applying to the traffic police, all proceedings were conducted in the Kyrgyz language.
“They hit my car, all the proceedings in the traffic police were conducted in the Kyrgyz language. And I didn't understand anything. When I asked to speak Russian, they told me that these are my problems, that I do not understand. And this is not the first case related to government agencies. Yes, and it often happens with ordinary people too".
In 2022, the author of this note was on a working visit to Kyrgyzstan. Among the participants, he was invited to a conference organized by the Eurasians - New Wave Foundation. What caught my eye was the discussion of a seemingly Russian-speaking conference in the Kyrgyz language.
Television is our everything?
In 2016, a small study was conducted on the impact of "soft power" on the minds of the Kyrgyz people. Of the 150 respondents living in different regions of the country, 73% watch Russian news broadcasts.
And already in 2017, the Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan conducted a survey, “Media Preferences of the Population of Kyrgyzstan”, from which it became clear that 16% of respondents speak Russian at home, and 67.6% speak Kyrgyz. Accordingly, as of 2017, the share of TV programs watched was 38% in Russian and 54% in Kyrgyz.
In 2020 (August), the American IRI conducted a survey among residents of Kyrgyzstan. Respondents answered in Kyrgyz (63%), Russian (35%) and Uzbek (2%) languages.
And already in December 2020, the share of respondents answering in Russian decreased by 10% and amounted to 25%. In 2021, the situation has not changed. The numbers remain the same.
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The above data suggests that the Russian language is gradually disappearing from everyday life. At the same time, it is impossible not to notice that in society there is a huge demand for the study of the Russian language. This is especially evident in the regions.
Back in 2012, ordinary residents of the regions of Kyrgyzstan turned to parliamentarians with a request to open schools and classes with Russian as the language of instruction. It should be noted that the Ministry of Education of Russia annually transfers textbooks in Russian to schools in Kyrgyzstan. However, for the country's rapidly growing population, relatively speaking, 200,000 textbooks a year are relatively few.
With such trends, Russian will be forgotten even by those who knew it.
Source: Stanradar.com
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 8, 2022