Russian Language - The Times Of Central Asia

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Language Politics

Rubio’s Remarks Reignite Debate on Russian Language in Uzbekistan

A brief exchange between United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a Bloomberg journalist in Samarkand has revived debate over the status of the Russian language in Uzbekistan. Speaking to reporters at Registan Square on October 19, Rubio asked Bloomberg correspondent Eric Martin whether he spoke Uzbek. Martin replied that he spoke Russian fluently. "Oh, okay. That's no longer the official language here, but it's good. A lot of people speak it. I understand," Rubio said. The exchange circulated on Uzbek social media, with some foreign outlets identifying Rubio's interlocutor as a local journalist. However, a Daryo correspondent at the event reported that Rubio was speaking to Martin. Russian remains widely used in Uzbekistan in business, education, the media, and everyday communication, particularly in major cities. Uzbek is the country's only state language. Unlike Kazakhstan, where Russian is officially used alongside Kazakh in state institutions, Uzbekistan does not grant Russian equivalent legal status. A similar controversy emerged in April 2025 after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Samarkand’s Grieving Mother memorial, dedicated to those who died in World War II. "There is an inscription in English, but I didn't see one in Russian. A mother is the most sacred figure," Lavrov remarked in the presence of Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov. Lavrov's comments drew criticism from Uzbek public figures, who viewed them as interference in the language policy of an independent state. Lavrov was questioning the absence of Russian at a public memorial, while Rubio was speaking informally with a foreign journalist. There is no indication from the exchange that Rubio intended to make a formal statement about Uzbekistan's language policy. During the summit of U.S. and Central Asian leaders at the White House in November 2025, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed U.S. President Donald Trump in Russian, speaking through an interpreter. Russian was widely used in government administration and higher education across the Soviet Union. Rubio's exchange came two days before Uzbek Language Day, observed on October 21. On that date in 1989, legislation was adopted granting Uzbek the status of state language. In 2020, a separate law formally established the date as an official holiday.

Internet

Over Half of People in Kyrgyzstan Use Russian Information Sources – New Survey

The Russian Eurasian Center for Sociology and Analytics has conducted a survey examining which information sources are used by citizens of Kyrgyzstan. The study involved face-to-face interviews with 1,900 residents aged over 18. The survey found that 52% of respondents use Russian or Russian-language information sources. One third use Kyrgyz and Russian or Russian-language sources equally, while 43% use Kyrgyz sources more often. Young people were identified as the main audience consuming information in Russian. The primary sources of information for residents of Kyrgyzstan are public pages and groups on social media (63%). YouTube ranks second (47%). Respondents also cited conversations with friends (41%) and group chats on WhatsApp, Viber, and other messaging platforms (37%) as common sources of news and information. For 40%, television remains a relevant source. Only 10% mentioned Telegram channels. Among men, the most popular sources of information are YouTube, television, and radio, while women tend to use social media more frequently. The main social media and online platforms used regularly (at least three to four times a week) are YouTube (71%) and Instagram (67%), followed by Facebook (23%) and TikTok (22%). Russian social networks such as VKontakte (5%) and Odnoklassniki are less popular. Seven percent of respondents said they do not use social media or online platforms at all. YouTube is the most popular platform across almost all age groups up to 64 years old. Online audiences show the greatest interest in political (48%) and entertainment (45%) content. Other areas of significant interest include leisure programmes (38%), sports (37%), social issues (34%), and economic news (33%). Political news is more likely to attract residents of the country’s north (55%) than those in the south (44%). Russian remains widely spoken in Kyrgyzstan, particularly in the north and in the capital, Bishkek. Under the Constitution, Russian has official status, while Kyrgyz is the state language.

Politics of Language

The Language Nobody Wants to Speak About: Russian’s Uneasy Place in Central Asia’s Cultural Conversation

Rhetoric in segments of the Russian media has sharpened debates over sovereignty and influence across Central Asia, pushing these concerns beyond policy circles and into everyday conversations. The region is reassessing not only pipelines and alliances, but language itself. In politics, this shift is visible and symbolic. In culture, it is more difficult to discern. The Russian language still shapes how Central Asian art is funded, circulated, and institutionally processed, even as institutions distance themselves from Moscow’s influence. This contradiction sits at the heart of contemporary cultural life in the region. Artists produce work rooted in Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, or Turkmen histories. They title exhibitions in local languages. They speak passionately about decolonial futures and cultural sovereignty. But when the catalogue is written, the grant application submitted, or the curatorial text sent abroad, the language quietly shifts. First to Russian, sometimes to English, and only occasionally does it remain in the local language. This is not nostalgia, but a structural inheritance. Russian remains the shared professional language of much of the urban cultural sector. Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, argues that the language’s endurance reflects both ideology and pragmatism. “While local languages have become much more widespread as the Central Asian republics have strengthened their nationhood and as there has been an increase in anti-Russian sentiments since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian language use remains widespread,” Lemon told TCA. “Despite the ideological imperative to reduce reliance on Russian, there are some pragmatic reasons why it remains prominent. High levels of migration to Russia, particularly from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, mean that a basic competence in the language is essential to survival for many Central Asians. Russian remains a language of interethnic communication, particularly in Kazakhstan, where ethnic Russians, for the most part, are reluctant to speak Kazakh. While English has become more widespread and some of the Central Asian languages are mutually intelligible, Russian retains a status as a diplomatic, business, and civil society language for those working in multiple countries. Russia also remains a language of education. Over 200,000 Central Asians study in Russia, by far the largest destination in the world. Russian-language schools remain prominent at every level in Central Asia, from kindergarten to graduate schools. In short, while the usage of Russian is in slow decline, its position is relatively entrenched.” For cultural institutions, this reality means that distancing from Moscow politically does not automatically sever the linguistic infrastructure through which grants are written, exhibitions travel, and contracts are signed. Naima Morelli, an arts writer focused on contemporary art across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, argues that the issue is less about elimination than coexistence. “For me, it makes sense that Russian continues to function as a practical operating language across Central Asia’s cultural infrastructure, as an inherited connective tissue of sorts. In the hypothesis of getting rid of it, the most obvious alternative for a shared language for exchanges across countries in Central Asia is English, which the global...

Education and Culture

The Battle to Keep Kazakhstan Reading

Mika’s Books and Pencils was a hole-in-the-wall bookstore in Almaty, but in December 2025, it was forced to vacate its former premises in the center of the city. “The rent was simply too high,” the store’s owner, Elmira Kireyeva, told The Times of Central Asia. Mika’s is not Kazakhstan’s only struggling bookseller. Kireyeva describes the situation for bookstores across the country as “extremely difficult,” even for the large chains. Physical bookstores are firstly threatened by the growth of e-commerce. In 2024, Kazakhstanis purchased over 2.3 million books on Wildberries, a Russian site similar to Amazon. This represented a 52% increase from 2023. But the economic situation is also having an effect. “Taxes have increased, including VAT on books. At the same time, people’s incomes are shrinking, so books are becoming a luxury,” Kireyeva said, noting that books are often printed abroad, which has seen them become a victim of the falling purchasing power of the national currency, the tenge. More worryingly for booksellers is that people are reading less than they once did. This is part of a global phenomenon, particularly among the young. A large share of undergraduate students in the United States claim to have never read a book. British historian Sir Niall Ferguson has recently argued that this decline is evident across the West, while the number of Russians who read at least once a week fell from 49% to 28% between 1994 and 2019. Many believe technology is to blame. “In the age of social media, human attention faces unprecedented competition,” Shyngys Muqan, founder of Mazmundama, a Kazakh-language publisher, told TCA. “Platforms built around short-form video are especially effective because they exploit a basic neurological tendency: the pursuit of dopamine with minimal cognitive effort. Compared to reading, scrolling requires little concentration, imagination, or sustained mental work, yet it delivers immediate emotional reward.” Kireyeva agrees that screens have certainly had an effect. “It’s not just phones; it’s also information overload. People can’t read long texts anymore – social media has trained us to read only short fragments,” she said. [caption id="attachment_42613" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The classic literature section in Meloman, one of Kazakhstan's largest book chains; image: Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] Kazakhstan has been affected worse than most. According to CEOWorld’s Book Reading Index 2024, Kazakhstanis read less than almost every country in the world. Of the 102 countries surveyed, Kazakhstan ranked 95th, with the average Kazakhstani reading just 2.77 books a year. This was behind every other Central Asian country surveyed (Kyrgyzstan – 3.96; Turkmenistan – 3.18; Tajikistan – 4.01), and far behind Russia (11). The results led one local newspaper to quip that, at this rate, it would take the average Kazakhstani 2.5 years to read the entire Harry Potter series. There are various structural factors which make Kazakhstan a particularly barren zone for readers. The first is geography – people in rural areas are very poorly served, and library collections are small. While Almaty residents spend an average of 2,300 tenge ($4.50) per family per quarter...

Soft Power

Russia Expands Soft Power Through New Cultural Center in Kyrgyzstan

Russia’s international cooperation organization Evraziya has launched Kyrgyzstan’s first Eurasian Center for Russian Language and Culture in Bishkek. The initiative aims to promote the Russian language, support local educators, and advance bilateral humanitarian projects. The center’s opening came just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Kyrgyzstan, which begins today on November 25. Evraziya, a Russian non-profit, presents itself as a vehicle for deeper integration in the post-Soviet space and is widely viewed as a key instrument of Moscow’s soft power strategy in Central Asia. High-Level Delegation at Launch The opening ceremony was attended by Russian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Sergey Vakunov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Head of the Presidential Executive Office for Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Vadim Titov, State Duma Deputy and Chair of Eurasia’s Coordination Council Alyona Arshinova, and Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Education and Science Albert Makhmetkulov. Arshinova noted that Evraziya had spent the past year enhancing cooperation with Kyrgyz institutions by offering teacher support, organizing educational forums, and providing professional development programs. “Kyrgyzstan is not just a partner; it is a country with which we share common values and a strategic vision,” she said. “The Russian language remains a foundation that connects our countries and opens opportunities for new educational and cultural initiatives.” Cultural and Educational Programming The new center will run a range of initiatives for schoolchildren and adolescents, including a theater studio, workshops in art and media, digital culture and programming courses, and the "Unboring Russian" project. For adults, the center will offer film clubs, discussion platforms, and a literary lounge. It will also serve as a training center for local teachers and coordinate bloggers focused on language and culture, reinforcing the Russian-language educational and cultural environment in Kyrgyzstan. Deputy Minister Makhmetkulov called the opening “a strategic step for education and interethnic dialogue,” describing the center as a space for both promoting Russian and fostering cultural exchange and professional growth. Evraziya plans to expand its network to other regions in Kyrgyzstan and eventually to other countries in the region. Wider Engagement Strategy Since 2024, Evraziya has intensified its presence in Kyrgyzstan through education, social, and humanitarian projects. In partnership with Russia’s Ministry of Education, the organization has dispatched young Russian teachers to Kyrgyz schools to teach various subjects in Russian. It has also donated 100 school buses to rural areas and financed renovations at schools in Bishkek and Kyzyl-Kyya. On August 28, in cooperation with Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers, Evraziya opened a $35 million amusement park in Bishkek. Two days earlier, the group launched its first social store in the capital, offering discounted essential goods to pensioners, veterans, large families, and people with disabilities. Russian Language as a Strategic Link The Russian language continues to be a central element in Moscow-Bishkek relations. During a July meeting at the Kremlin, Putin praised Kyrgyzstan’s decision to retain Russian as an official language. Russian remains one of Kyrgyzstan’s official languages and is widely used in public administration, education, and interethnic communication. As part of...

Russian Language

Russia to Measure Russian Language Influence Abroad, Focus on Uzbekistan

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned a new research initiative to evaluate the effectiveness of its global Russian language promotion efforts, with a particular focus on Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. According to the Russian daily Vedomosti, the state-funded All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (ARPOR) secured the contract, valued at 34.8 million rubles (approximately $390,000). ARPOR Director Valery Fedorov confirmed that the study has not yet begun, as the contract is still being finalized. When asked whether recent diplomatic strains between Russia and Azerbaijan might affect the initiative, Fedorov replied, “Escalations come and go.” While the focus includes several post-Soviet states, the survey will also encompass countries such as India, China, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates. ARPOR previously conducted a similar study in 2024 in Israel, Kazakhstan, China, Cuba, Egypt, and India. The current research will survey at least 1,500 people online and a minimum of 1,000 participants via phone or in-person interviews in each country. A ten-member expert team specializing in linguistics, international relations, culture, and media will analyze the results. The initiative will culminate in a roundtable discussion in Moscow. Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government agency responsible for promoting cultural and educational ties abroad, told Vedomosti that more than 14,000 individuals studied Russian at its "Russian House" cultural centers across 71 countries in 2024. Uzbekistan remains one of the agency’s core focus areas, alongside Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. In Uzbekistan, over 1,000 schools offer instruction in Russian or in bilingual formats. In contrast, Kazakhstan has more than 3,600 such schools. Russian retains official language status in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while in Tajikistan it is designated as a “language of interethnic communication.” In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, however, Russian does not have any official legal status. In Kazakhstan, the use of Russian has been in gradual decline, largely due to demographic shifts. As of January 1, 2024, ethnic Russians made up 14.89% of the population, down sharply from nearly 40% in 1989. Nevertheless, Russian remains widely spoken and is supported by educational institutions and strong bilateral ties with Moscow. Experts cited by Vedomosti noted that conditions for Russian language education are significantly more challenging outside urban centers like Tashkent and Baku. In many schools across Uzbekistan, Russian is taught for just two hours per week, insufficient to meet growing demand, they argue. While interest in the Russian language remains steady, analysts say this is driven more by pragmatic factors, such as aspirations to study at Russian universities or pursue employment with Russian firms, than by cultural affinity or the effectiveness of Moscow’s soft power outreach.