Latest news with #RussianLanguage
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Putin inks new policy to fight Russian language discrimination
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new language policy doctrine aimed at supporting the use of the national language, both in Russia and abroad. The change was necessary as Moscow continues to fight 'attempts to restrict the use of the Russian language and 'cancel' the Russian culture… as well as discrimination against the Russian media,' according to the document. Attempts by foreign nations to restrict the use of the Russian language have been identified as one of the main threats Russia faces in the cultural sphere. It also addresses he 'unfounded' use of foreign words in public speech, especially when there are common Russian equivalents available. The new policy doctrine is aimed at preserving the Russian tongue, as well as the languages of various local ethnic groups, strengthening national unity, and promoting the use of the Russian language in the world. The list of measures outlined in the document includes increasing interest in Russian abroad and developing ties with Russian expats and foreigners speaking the language and sharing traditional Russian values. The Russian language should also be more prominent on the internet, the document says, and sets a goal of increasing the number of online resources allowing foreign nationals to study Russian and find out more about Russian culture. Last month, Putin also supported the idea of creating a centralized organization to promote and support the use of the country's language internationally. Moscow was already working on promoting the Russian language abroad 'through various channels,' but these activities would further benefit from the creation of 'a dedicated center,' the president said. A number of nations severely limited the use of Russian following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. In Ukraine, an unprecedented campaign was launched to purge anything linked to Russia. Earlier this week, Ukraine's education ombudsman advised schoolteachers to act as if they only understand Ukrainian when speaking with students. The law mandates the use of Ukrainian in most aspects of public life, despite a significant portion of the population speaking Russian as their native tongue. The Baltic States meanwhile, have ramped up enforcement actions against anyone suspected of Russian ties. Hundreds of people, primarily ethnic Russians, have reportedly been deported from Latvia for failing a Latvian language exam. A Latvian MP was also investigated for inciting hatred after he used Russian in a speech in parliament last month.
Bloomberg
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Latvia Questions Party Leader for Russian Comments in Parliament
Latvian authorities detained and questioned the leader of a political party catering to the country's Russian-speaking minority for allegedly inciting hatred in parliament earlier this month. Aleksejs Roslikovs was ejected from a parliamentary session earlier this month during a debate on restricting the public use of the Russian language, in which the party leader said 'there are many more of us' in Russian and made a vulgar gesture. The episode lays bare the tension in the Baltic nation over its biggest minority group.
Russia Today
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia and Republika Srpska sign education partnership deal
Russia and Republika Srpska, an autonomous region within Bosnia and Herzegovina, have signed a memorandum to expand cooperation in education. The ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Third International Forum of Ministers of Education, 'Shaping the Future', in the Russian city of Kazan. The deal was signed by Russian Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov and Republika Srpska's minister of education and culture, Zeljka Stojicic, on Wednesday. Under the agreement, both parties committed to closer cooperation in general education, vocational training, and further vocational education. They will also exchange information on international conferences, seminars, and education-related events hosted in Russia and Republika Srpska. The sides also discussed deepening bilateral ties at the forum. 'I would like to express my gratitude to the Srpska side for their active cooperation. We have already opened five Russian language open education centers in Republika Srpska. Around 500 citizens have studied in them over two years,' Kravtsov said. Stojicic noted that the two sides have made notable progress in expanding Russian language instruction in Republika Srpska. 'We have made great progress in Russian language studies. The number of schools where the Russian language is studied has increased,' she stated, noting that Russia's Tula University was helpful with this endeavor. According to Kravtsov, the university has been working with Republika Srpska's education sector, and signed agreements with the region's specialized ministries in 2023. A key part of the agreement signed by the parties includes promoting Russian language studies in Republika Srpska through competitions, Olympiads, and cultural events, as well as encouraging the use of electronic education resources. The two also pledged to support student talent development, organize children's recreation programs, and hold reciprocal fairs, seminars, and exhibitions. This year's 'Shaping the Future' forum – held June 11 to 12 – brought together delegations from 50 states, including education ministers and officials from the UAE, Belarus, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Myanmar, Laos, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Zimbabwe. The agenda focused on global challenges in education, including digital transformation, AI, online learning, inclusion, and the evolving role of teachers.
Telegraph
02-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Russia publishes ceasefire demands
Vladimir Putin has laid out his demands for both a ceasefire and ending the war in Ukraine. Russian negotiators tabled a long memorandum in a second round of direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday. The document's first section contained Moscow's 'basic parameters of a final settlement'. It stipulates that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from four eastern regions that Russia only partially occupies, and that international recognition of Russian sovereignty over them and Crimea must be granted. Kyiv must also commit to curbs on the size of its military, as well as to permanent neutrality and to having no foreign troops deployed on its territory. Diplomatic and economic ties between the two nations must be reinstated, which would include the resumption of Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine. Other demands included a ban on 'glorification or promotion of Nazism and neo-Nazism' and for the Russian language to be given official status. The second section listed the Kremlin's conditions for agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire, and appeared to give Kyiv two choices. These were that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from four mainland regions claimed by Russia, or agree to a package of demands that included cancelling martial law and holding elections. Among the other requirements was a total halt on all foreign military aid and for Ukraine to begin demobilising. The US and Turkey-brokered negotiations at the Ciragan Palace on the banks of the Bosphorus appeared to bring the sides no closer to a truce. Ukraine and Russia, however, agreed to an exchange of 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers, as well as an 'all-for-all' swap of seriously wounded and injured prisoners of war and captured servicemen aged under 25. The Russians offered a series of smaller, localised truces across the front lines to allow for the collection of corpses. This, however, appeared to be rejected by Ukraine, as a senior military figure told The Telegraph that Russia had previously used similar pauses to prepare for fresh assaults. Both sides could not bridge the divides on a 30-day ceasefire being pushed by Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, and Donald Trump. Despite the lack of progress, the US president on Monday said he was open to holding talks with his Ukrainian counterpart and Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader. Ukrainian officials had been waiting weeks for the Russian peace proposals to be published, but these documents were only made available as talks started in Istanbul. Read side-by-side, the two memorandums reveal a mountainous wedge between their opposing positions. Russia's demands appeared almost identical to the set of proposals put forward in the early months of the full-scale invasion, which were ultimately rejected by Mr Zelensky as a capitulation. The Russian terms of surrender for Ukraine were published by Russian state media hours after the talks were wrapped up in Turkey. Kyiv's proposed route to a ceasefire, and ultimately a fuller peace deal, including security guarantees to prevent another Russian invasion, no international recognition of Moscow's occupation of Ukrainian territories and no restriction on Kyiv's armed forces. A Ukrainian official familiar with the talks described them as 'unproductive', and branded Moscow demands as unacceptable. The two delegations entered a large conference at the Ciragan Palace without exchanging handshakes or pleasantries. The Russians, led by Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky, appeared stony faced as they positioned themselves around the U-shaped table, after Ukraine mounted an audacious drone attack on Moscow's fleet of strategic bomber warplanes. At one moment in the hour-long talks, Mr Medinsky accused the Ukrainians of 'putting on a show' after they handed over a list of hundreds of Ukrainian children they wanted returned from Russia. 'Do not put on a show for European tender-hearted aunties who do not have children themselves,' he said, according to a quote shared with The Telegraph by a member of the negotiating team. A Ukrainian source familiar with the talks told The Telegraph that Russia made a counter-proposal to return just 10 children. 'Ukraine brought forward a list with more than 300 children requesting their return,' the official said. 'Should Russia have agreed to this request and returned those children, that would provide Ukraine with more confidence that Russia is interested in the humanitarian component of peace negotiations.'
