scholarly journals Deficiencies of Official Bilingualism in the Finno-Ugric Republics of Post-Soviet Russia: A Legal Perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (62) ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Zamyatin
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
The Public ◽  
Regional Language ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Official Status ◽  
Local Languages

As a part of the “parade of sovereignties” during the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the national republics of Russia designated both Russian and local languages as their state languages. The co-official status of the dominant Russian language by default prevented full-fledged official bilingualism, and serious steps were needed to promote non-dominant local languages in the public sphere. Beyond a mere formal recognition of their official status, the republican authorities passed regulations in order to provide institutional support for the local languages, the amount of which varied across republics. However, the extent of such regulations remains understudied and the best way to evaluate it would be a comparative analysis. What was the level of institutionalization of the official status in the case of titular languages in Russia’s republics? This study examines various solutions for framing the official status of titular languages in regional language legislations in order to understand the patterns of institutionalization. The republics titled after the Finno-Ugric peoples were chosen as case studies for the comparison. The study reveals that language legislation contains serious deficiencies in institutionalization of the official status of titular languages, which impede possibilities for their practical use in office.

“Airing Our Dirty Linen in Public”: Lidiia Chukovskaia, Nadezhda Mandeľshtam, and Competing Visions for a Liberal Soviet Counterpublic

Slavic Review ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 778-799
Author(s):  
Lusia Zaitseva
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Conservative Attitude ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Dirty Linen ◽  
At Home

This article contributes to the study of gender and dissidence in the Soviet Union by examining the feud between two significant authors of cultural samizdat and tamizdat—Nadezhda Mandeľshtam and Lidiia Chukovskaia—through an updated feminist lens. It draws on prose unpublished in their lifetimes and presents previously undiscovered writing by Mandeľshtam in order to examine the origins and substance of their feud. I argue that their distinctive modes of authorship date to their relationship with Anna Akhmatova and subsequent differing approaches to her legacy. These approaches reveal their shared conservative attitude regarding gender and moral authority in the nascent liberal Soviet counterpublic as well as their diverging understandings of how the transnational public sphere could help bring about much-needed changes at home. These attitudes shaped how they regarded each other and continue to have salience for our understanding of women's participation in the public sphere in Russia today.

scholarly journals Słownik Józefa Krasnego a żywy polski język radziecki w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym (kilka uwag o konkursie ogłoszonym przez „Trybunę Radziecką” w 1930 roku)

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Tamara Graczykowska
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Proletarian Revolution

The dictionary of Józef Krasny and Polish living Russian language in the interwar period (several remarks about the competition published in „Trybuna Radziecka” in 1930)In 1930 the editor-in-chief of the Russian-Polish Dictionary, Józef Krasny, asked the readers of the newspaper “Trybuna Radziecka”, published in Moscow in 1927–1938, to send to the newspaper “Trybuna Radziecka” the best Polish equivalents of presented words. The list of the Rusicisms and the Sovietisms was published in “Trybuna Radziecka” and contained about 90 lexems. In Józef Krasny’s opinion these words had not very good translation in the Soviet Polish language. He described the process of creation of this dictionary in “Trybuna Radziecka”. The editor of Russian-Polish dictionary made effort to reflect as closely as possible the language of proletarian revolution, the new realities of life in the Soviet Union. The Russian-Polish Dictionary was criticized by contemporaries. Among them was Bruno Jasieński. The article presents a lexical material excerpted from the “Trybuna Radziecka”. The author tries to show that many of lexems presented in “Trybuna Radziecka” in list of Józef Krasny were in common use in the Soviet variant of Polish language in the years preceding World War II. The author incorporated only these Rusicisms and Sovietisms extracted from the “Trybuna Radziecka” which were presented in newspaper by Józef Krasny and were discussed in the newspaper ”Kultura Mas” by Bruno Jasieński. The paper contains 12 pairs of lexems, like czystka – przesiew, gbur – kułak, gosprad – kołchoz, łazik – progulszczyk. The aim of the article is show that the “Trybuna Radziecka” reflects living Polish language in the post-revolution Soviet Russia.  Словарь Юзефа Красного и  живой польский советский язык в двадцатилетие между первой и второй мировой войнoй (несколько замечаний о конкурсе, объявленном газетой „Trybuna Radziecka” в 1930 г.)В  1930  году  редакция  газеты  „Trybuna  Radziecka”,  которая  издавалась в Москве, проживающими здесь польскими коммунистами, объявила языковой конкурс. Редактор польско-русских словарей поместил в газете список русских лексем, не имеющих, по его мнению, удачных польских эквивалентов. В список вошли, главным образом, наименования новых советских реалиий (напр., избач, колхоз, подкулачник, прогул, прогульщик, чистка и др.). Редактор Юзеф Красны обратился к читателям с просьбой присылать в редакцию газеты переводы указанных слов с целью выбора самых удачных эквивалентов и помещения их в подготавливаемом для издания русско-польском словаре.В статье рассмотрена часть таких слов. Автор пытался показать, что советизмы и руссизмы (заимствования из русского языка), отобраны Ю. Красным были использованы также в языке (польском) газеты „Trybuna Radziecka”. На страницах газеты параллельно появлялись и руссизмы, к которым автор словаря просил подбирать эквиваленты, как и новые польские переводы советской лексики (напр., czystka – przesiew, gosprad – sowchoz, łazik – progulszczyk, wyrwa – proryw).

scholarly journals Kazakhstani immigration policy impact for ethno-demographic structural changes

2019 ◽  
pp. 80-100
Author(s):  
Shugatai Amangul
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
New Nation ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Past Wrongs

 After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kazakhstan government implemented ethnic-based immigration policies which call for ethnic Kazakhs from abroad return to their historical homeland. In 1991, Kazakhstan started a repatriation process of calling back its ethnic Kazakh to belong to the new nation, and to their new found ethnic identity. The immigration policies has including the “repatriation process of ethnics”, have helped significantly as Kazakhs tries to reconcile past wrongs, increase internal stability and conserve national identity. Because of the Soviet era much of Kazakh language and traditional cultures was sufficiently reduced in the public sphere, and the ethnic composition in this country was dominated by non-titular ethnics Thus, that ethnic immigration policy focused on change ethno-demographic structure of the Kazakhstan and increasing the total population size. This article focused to analyze the results of the ethnic immigration policy of Kazakhstan, how it has changed the immigration policy over the last 30 years. Казахстан улсын угсаатны шилжилт хөдөлгөөний бодлого, түүний үр дүн Хураангуй: 1991 онд Зөвлөлт Холбоот Улс (ЗХУ) задарч, Бүгд Найрамдах Казахстан Улс (БНКазУ) байгуулагдсаны дараа тус улсад хүн амын “олон улсын шилжилт хөдөлгөөн”-ий урсгал эрчимтэй явагдаж эхэлсэн билээ. Шинээр тусгаар тогтносон БНКазУ хүн амын тогтвортой өсөлтийг дэмжих, нийт хүн амд казах угсаатны эзлэх хэмжээг нэмэгдүүлэх замаар угсаатны бүтцээ өөрчлөх, нийгэм эдийн засгийн хөгжилтэй уялдуулан хүн амын амьжиргааны түвшинг дээшлүүлэх зэрэг зорилтуудыг дэвшүүлсэн. Энэ хүрээнд дэлхийн өнцөг булан бүрээс казах угсаатнуудыг өөрсдийн “түүхэн эх нутаг” (historical homeland) болох БНКазУ-д шилжин ирж суурьших уриа дуудлага болгож, хүн амын шилжилт хөдөлгөөний тусгай бодлогыг хэрэгжүүлсэн. Ингэснээр БНКазУ-ыг чиглэсэн казах үндэстний хил дамнасан шилжилт хөдөлгөөн бүс нутгийн ба дэлхийн хэмжээнд эрчимтэй өрнөж, өнөөдрийг хүртэл тасралтгүй үргэлжилж байна. Энэхүү өгүүлэлд БНКазУ-ын Засгийн газраас нийт хүн амд эзлэх казах үндэстний тоог нэмэгдүүлэх, угсаатны бүтцийг өөрчлөхийн тулд 1991 оноос хойш 30 орчим жилийн хугацаанд хэрэгжүүлж буй шилжилт хөдөлгөөний (цагаачлал) бодлогын хэрэгжилт, түүний үр дүнд задлан шинжилгээ хийхийг зорилоо. Түлхүүр үг: Бүгд Найрамдах Казахстан Улс, хүн ам зүйн бодлого, угсаатны бүтцийн өөрчлөлт, диаспора, казах үндэстний шилжилт хөдөлгөөн

Scholars, Politicians, and the Production of Soviet Assimilation Narratives

2021 ◽  
pp. 144-178
Author(s):  
Krista A. Goff
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
The Public Sphere

The chapter focuses on the trajectory of Talysh national identifications and classifications, which was being erased from the public sphere in the Soviet Union. It explores why Talyshes were vulnerable to assimilatory politics and the architecture of Soviet myths of nontitular assimilation. It also argues that theories of Soviet modernity, as well as Talysh ethnonational ties to Iran, are key variables that shaped Talysh experiences in the Soviet Union. The chapter mentions A. A. Isupov, the head of the Administration's Department of the All-Union Census, who invoked an ethnographer's account of Talysh assimilation to explain that the Talysh men were not Talysh but Azerbaijani. It explains how censuses have constitutive power and in the Soviet Union, which played an important role in naturalizing discourses of minority assimilation.

Tibetan Reform and the Kalmyk Revival of Buddhism

Inner Asia ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Religious Reform ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Historical Practices

AbstractThe anti-religious campaigns of the Soviet Union in the 1930s eradicated Kalmyk Buddhism from the public sphere. Following perestroika the Kalmyks retain a sense of being an essentially Buddhist people. Accordingly, the new Kalmyk government is reviving the religion with the building of temples and the attempted training of Kalmyk monks, yet monasticism is proving too alien for young post-soviets. According to traditional Kalmyk Gelug Buddhism authoritative Buddhist teachers must be monks, so monastic Tibetans from India have been invited to the republic to help revive Buddhism. The subsequent labelling by these monks of 'surviving' Kalmyk Buddhist practices as superstitious, mistaken or corrupt is an initial step in the purification of alternate views, leading to religious reform. This appraisal of historical practices is encouraged by younger Kalmyks who do not find sense in surviving Buddhism but are enthused with the philosophical approach taught by visiting Buddhist teachers at Dharma centres. By discussing this post-Soviet shift in local notions of religious efficacy, I show how the social movements of both reform and revival arise as collusion between contemporary Tibetan and Kalmyk views on the nature of true Buddhism.

Introduction: Normative orders and the remaking of Muslim spaces and selves in contemporary Russia

Ethnicities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-666
Author(s):  
Lili Di Puppo ◽  
Jesko Schmoller
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Islamic Religion ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this special issue is to explore, from the perspective of various notions of space, the manifold ways in which Muslims in Russia live and practice their religion. We aim to analyse how Muslims in Russia are confronted in the practice of their religion with various conceptual and experiential realms. These realms correspond to certain divisions that they must negotiate and navigate. Examples of these include the boundaries between the secular and the religious; the public and the private; the official and the informal or unofficial; the local and the translocal/transregional/transnational; halal and haram, etc. Looking at Islam through the lens of space allows us to explore the dynamic ways in which Muslims in Russia have continued to creatively redefine, negotiate, reinforce, alter and dissolve these boundaries and divides since the fall of the Soviet Union. Diverse experiences and perceptions of Muslim spaces further help us to relate the question of the (re)appearance of these Muslim spaces to the process of de-secularisation that is currently taking place in post-Soviet Russia. In particular, we aim to clarify how the relationship between the secular realm and the Islamic religion is being reconfigured by examining how Muslim lives integrate, transcend and alter the normative dichotomies that are present in official discourses on Islam. We thus want to look ethnographically at the relationship between the ways in which normative categories define and delimit certain realms and the ways in which Muslims live their religion by creatively shaping and experiencing spaces that go beyond these normative divisions. In addition, this special issue explores the question of how the (re)creation of Muslim spaces is linked to processes of becoming Muslim, of cultivating a Muslim self and of experiencing different (but often simultaneous) identities and forms of personhood.

Translation and Transformation: English-Language Children's Literature in (Soviet) Russian Guise

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Inggs
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
English Language ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Philosophy Of Action ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Soviet Russia

This article investigates the perceived image of English-language children's literature in Soviet Russia. Framed by Even-Zohar's polysystem theory and Bourdieu's philosophy of action, the discussion takes into account the ideological constraints of the practice of translation and the manipulation of texts. Several factors involved in creating the perceived character of a body of literature are identified, such as the requirements of socialist realism, publishing practices in the Soviet Union, the tradition of free translation and accessibility in the translation of children's literature. This study explores these factors and, with reference to selected examples, illustrates how the political and sociological climate of translation in the Soviet Union influenced the translation practices and the field of translated children's literature, creating a particular image of English-language children's literature in (Soviet) Russia.

Staging the Great Victory

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-123
Author(s):  
Catherine Schuler
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
History And Memory ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Great Victory

A war of history and memory over the Great Patriotic War (WWII) between the Soviet Union and Germany has been raging in Vladimir Putin’s Russia for almost two decades. Putin’s Kremlin deploys all of the mythmaking machinery at its disposal to correct narratives that demonize the Soviet Union and reflect badly on post-Soviet Russia. Victory Day, celebrated annually on 9 May with parades, concerts, films, theatre, art, and music, plays a crucial role in disseminating the Kremlin’s counter narratives.

The Challenges to Social Control in Brezhnev’s Soviet Union, 1964-1982

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-173
Author(s):  
Fedor L. Sinitsyn
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Soviet System ◽  
State Archive ◽  
Central State ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Russian State ◽  
The Government ◽  
General Secretary

This article examines the development of social control in the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev, who was General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1964 to 1982. Historians have largely neglected this question, especially with regard to its evolution and efficiency. Research is based on sources in the Russian State Archive of Modern History (RGANI), the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) and the Moscow Central State Archive (TSGAM). During Brezhnevs rule, Soviet propaganda reached the peak of its development. However, despite the fact that authorities tried to improve it, the system was ritualistic, unconvincing, unwieldy, and favored quantity over quality. The same was true for political education, which did little more than inspire sullen passivity in its students. Although officials recognized these failings, their response was ineffective, and over time Soviet propaganda increasingly lost its potency. At the same time, there were new trends in the system of social control. Authorities tried to have a foot in both camps - to strengthen censorship, and at the same time to get feedback from the public. However, many were afraid to express any criticism openly. In turn, the government used data on peoples sentiments only to try to control their thoughts. As a result, it did not respond to matters that concerned the public. These problems only increased during the era of stagnation and contributed to the decline and subsequent collapse of the Soviet system.

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