Paul Goble
Staunton, July 31 – Natalya Mikhaeva-Saiya, head of the Native Language Movement in the Sakha Republic, has called on Vladimir Putin to reverse Russian government plans to cut the number of hours instruction in native languages given his concern about declines in the use of non-Russian languages.
She and her allies share that concern and believe that cutting the number of hours devoted to native language instruction, as the Russian government has announced, will only further reduce the number of people who speak those languages, exactly the reverse of what Putin says he wants.
The words of her appeal, originally carried only on her personal telegram channel (t.me/mikhaleva_saya) have now been reposted by the Circassian human rights outlet, Za Prava KBR (zapravakbr.ru/index.php/30-uncategorised/1987-obshchestvenniki-yakutii-trebuyut-sokhranit-uroki-rodnogo-yazyka-v-shkolakh-obrashchenie-k-prezidentu-vladimiru-putinu).
They will thus reach a broader audience, but at the same time, they highlight something that may be even more important. Activists from various non-Russian nations are now working more closely together, first by repeating posts and then by bringing their positions closer together, something that poses a larger challenge to Moscow than the actions of any one alone.
More than almost any other nation now within the borders of the Russian Federation, the Circassians understand that and deserve congratulations from everyone who is benefiting from their outreach to groups that would otherwise not get the attention they seek and clearly deserve.
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