Kyrgyz public rejects Russian criticism of new language law

BISHKEK -- Russian criticism of a recently adopted law that expands the use of Kyrgyz, the state language in Kyrgyzstan, has angered many in the Central Asian country.

President Sadyr Japarov on July 17 signed a new law requiring Kyrgyz civil servants to speak Kyrgyz for official purposes, sparking an outcry from Russian politicians.

Parliament had adopted the legislation at the end of May.

The new law mandates the use of Kyrgyz in the activities of government agencies, local governments, businesses and other organizations.

In addition, Kyrgyz television and radio companies, whether state-owned or private, must broadcast at least 60% of their programs in Kyrgyz. The names of foreign organizations and those with mixed Kyrgyz and foreign ownership must now be accompanied by their Kyrgyz transliteration when cited in news reports.

Officials who do not use the state language will be fired, the government announced.

Civil servants who do not speak Kyrgyz have had enough time to learn it, as efforts to strengthen the status of the state language have been under way for years, Kanybek Osmonaliyev, chairman of the National Committee for the State Language, told reporters on July 27.

"They had three to four years to learn Kyrgyz, and had they been [diligent], they would have learned it in six months," Osmonaliyev told Caravanserai. "All the deadlines have now passed. "Officials [who do not speak Kyrgyz] will be fired."

Russian backlash

Kyrgyzstan was still a Soviet republic in 1989 when its parliament made Kyrgyz the state language.

However, Russian also enjoys official status, leading to its lingering dominance in Kyrgyzstan as the main language of public communications, office work, legislation and business.

Moscow for many years has used Russian as a tool of "soft power" and has undertaken efforts to expand Russia's influence in Kyrgyzstan with the help of cultural and educational projects.

The new law drew the ire of Russian politicians, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov at a meeting with leaders of Russian NGOs on July 19 in Moscow spoke about the need to promote the Russian language and culture abroad.

"In Kyrgyzstan, a law was adopted [by parliament] a few months ago. When this idea first appeared, we warned our Kyrgyz friends that it was not entirely democratic," Lavrov said.

"We warned [the Kyrgyz] several times, but another line prevailed," he said, noting that the Russian authorities would "continue to work" on the matter.

Japarov rejected Lavrov's position in a July 24 interview with news agency Kabar, in which he noted that the new law does not discriminate against the Russian language, as it remains the official (but not the state) language under the constitution.

"Apparently, Sergey Lavrov did not study the law in detail," said Japarov.

"Here the emphasis is something else: we want to fully develop our language," he said, lamenting that many Kyrgyz officials, including members of parliament, "speak half in Russian and half in Kyrgyz".

'Openly meddling' in Kyrgyz affairs

Kyrgyz citizens also rejected Lavrov's criticism of the new law.

Ulan Kadyrbayev, a Bishkek influencer and blogger, said he was outraged that Russia is again openly meddling in Kyrgyzstan's internal affairs and telling the government what to do.

"We are trying to literally save our native language, which is being used less and less in Kyrgyzstan each year," Kadyrbayev told Caravanserai, without citing evidence.

"This is the direct result of the [use of the] Russian language, which was imposed on us and dominates every public sphere."

"Our government ignored the need to develop the state language for 30 years, and this is the result," Duishon Kerimov, editor in chief for the Bishkek newspaper Kyrgyz Tili, told Caravanserai.

"We must not forget that we are a free nation, and we have our own language, and we have every right to speak and write in it."

Kerimov dismissed Lavrov's criticism as unfounded.

"I did not expect him to make such statements, given that he is a diplomat with extensive experience in the job," said Kerimov.

"There is no threat, as they claim, to the Russian language in Kyrgyzstan, but there is a threat to the Kyrgyz language," poet Toktosun Samudinov told Caravanserai.

"Our young people, many of whom work in Russia, speak Russian well, which can't be said about their native language."

"We simply must support our language," he said.