Bashkiria parliament speaker delivered report in Strasbourg about language policy in Russia and our region

UFA, 31 October 2019. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

According to the coefficient of multi-ethnicity, Russia takes a leading place in the world, this was stated by Konstantin Tolkachev, Chairman of the Bashkir State Assembly at a plenary session of the 37th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. He spoke about the language policy of the Russian Federation and Bashkortostan.

“The national policy of the Russian state is to support and preserve linguistic diversity and cultural identity. We have not lost a single language, even of the smallest nationality. Russian regions are formed on a national-territorial basis, taking into account the country's national diversity. 85 Russian regions include 22 national republics, four autonomous districts, one autonomous region”, the speaker of the republican parliament cited data.

He emphasized that the republics, as entities of the Russian Federation, had their laws on languages.

“A unique model of legal regulation of this sphere has developed in our country: more than 30 languages ​​at the level of subjects have the status of state ones, no similar models exist anywhere else in the world. In government bodies, local self-government, state institutions of the republics, they are used along with the state language of the Russian Federation, ”said the speaker.

The Chairman of the State Assembly gave an example of Bashkortostan and the Law "On the languages ​​of the peoples of the Republic of Bashkortostan" adopted by the republican parliament.

“Government bodies and local self-government in Bashkortostan use the Russian language as their working one. The Bashkir language can also be used”, said Konstantin Tolkachev.

In addition to the Speaker of the Parliament of Bashkortostan, Andrew Dawson from Great Britain spoke on the topic. Konstantin Tolkachev noted in a dialogue with his colleague that Russian legislation was based on the principles of preservation, development, use, and protection of languages, taking into account both international legal acts and regional specificities, and invited European parliamentarians to emulate these positive practices, the press service of the State Assembly RB informs.