Paul Goble
Staunton, Feb. 11 – The new draft constitution of Kazakhstan changes the words used to designate the status of the Russian language. The current constitution specifies that Russian exists “on par” with Kazakh while the new one says that Russian exists there “alongside” the state language of the republic.
Russian media have accurately reported this change but Russian commentators have attacked it as an insult to Russia, while in Kazakhstan, few have expressed concern except for some Kazakh nationalists who are upset that the new basic law doesn’t go far enough in reducing the role of Russian in their country (novgaz.com/index.php/2-news/4130-прикусили-язык).
The change in wording reflects both the increasing importance of Kazakh in the life of Kazakhstan and the sense that the role of Russian will decline naturally and without conflicts on its own and the approach of Kazakh’s government to avoid getting into unnecessary conflicts with the Kremlin while insisting on Kazakhstan’s role as an independent country.
But according to Kazakhstan government experts, the change in law will have some immediately consequences – consequences that many Russians will say go too far while many Kazakh nationalists will insist do not go far enough (vlast.kz/novosti/68303-v-proekte-novoj-konstitucii-izmenili-formulirovku-ob-ispolzovanii-russkogo-azyka.html).
Under the current language, officials are obligated to give any information they release in equal amounts in Kazakh and Russian; but under the new constitutional language, they will have to supply it in Russian only on the request of the citizen involved in the proceeding or application process.
That will intensify the general shift away from Russian to Kazakh over time, but it is not the kind of change that by itself represents the threat to relations with Moscow that some Russian commentators fear or a failure to take the kind of action against the use of Russian in Kazakhstan that Kazakh nationalists hoped for.
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