Paul Goble
Staunton, June 16 – For most of the period since 1991, Tatarstan has been the leader among non-Russian nations in generating ideas for other Russian federal subjects in this category; but now there is evidence that this relationship is being turned on its head and that other republics are providing ideas for Tatarstan.
While even in the past, this was a two-way street as far as influence between Tatarstan and the others was concerned and is likely to remain so in the future, the fact that Tatars are now focusing on what others are doing and even asking whether they can “help” Tatarstan is a shift that has not yet become widely recognized.
Prompting this idea is a remarkable article on the Milliard.Tatar portal entitled “How Sakha is Saving Its Language and Can This Help Tatarstan” about a visit of Tatar scholars, activists and officials to the Sakha capital of Yakutsk (milliard.tatar/news/kak-v-yakutii-spasayut-yazyk-i-pomozet-li-eto-tatarstanu-7672).
The Sakha presenters at a roundtable there identified a variety of steps their republic had taken to ensure that the national language would be preserved. The importance of three was stressed. First of all, the speakers said that sitcoms produced locally and in the Yakut language were attracting more viewers than even Russian-language ones produced in Moscow.
Second, they highlighted the introduction last year of neural networks to create “digital authors broadcasting in the Yakut language,” something that has dramatically expanded audience size by reaching out to Sakha residents who rely on their cellphones for news, information and entertainment.
And third, the Sakha speakers celebrated the fact that their republic’s parliament had taken a tough stand against Moscow’s efforts to do away with the category of “native language,” something they clearly hope that the Tatars will emulate. (On that Russian move, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/06/in-new-threat-to-non-russians-moscow.html.)
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