The kremlin Is Moving to the Final Stage of russification of Enslaved Peoples

The kremlin is moving to the final stage of russification: from the 2026-2027 academic year, the subjects “Native Language” and “Native Literature” will disappear from the list of compulsory subjects in schools and will become optional. This effectively deprives 277 languages of the peoples of the rf of state support. Today, 105 languages are used in the education system, but their use is rapidly declining.

The decision is the culmination of the process that began in 2018 when putin declared the study of non-russian languages optional. In 2020, russian was enshrined in the constitution as the “language of the state-forming people”.  In 2024, moscow withdrew from the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which abolished international obligations to support linguistic and cultural diversity.

In Tatarstan, the number of schools teaching in Tatar has more than halved over the past decade. In Buryatia, Chechnya, and other regions, independent media outlets covering linguistic or ethnic issues are subject to pressure or blocking. State television and radio channels are no longer required to broadcast in minority languages; festivals and cultural events without government  approval are often banned, and organizers are persecuted for “extremism”.

The kremlin is promoting the concept of a “single russian nation”, which could lead to the elimination of national republics. The rf is seeking to transform itself from a multinational country into a mono-national one. According to the kremlin, this has to unite the population around the imperial center. In the future, they even plan to change the name of the subject “Native Language” to “Language of the people of russia”.