The Current Situation of the Russian Language in the Central Asian States (Journal of Post-Soviet Studies; vol. 3, no. 3)

The article examines the current situation of the Russian language in the five Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which appreciate the sovereignty they have gained, elevating their own language policies to the level of a manifestation of national independence and a symbol of sovereignty. The status of the Russian is no longer a simple question of language, but a complex political issue. The author shows that the attitudes of the five Central Asian states toward the Russian language can be divided into three main categories: acceptance, resistance and uncertainty.