You're reading: RFE/RL: Controversial ‘native languages’ bill passes legislative hurdle in Russia

RFE/RL: Controversial ‘native languages’ bill passes legislative hurdle in Russia

By Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Published July 25, 2018 at 4:59 pm

A woman walks past a mosque in Kazan, the capital of Russia's Muslim autonomic republic of Tatarstan, on July 16. The republic, like a number of regions of Russia, may soon see mandatory instruction in minority languages canceled, with a new bill from Russia's legislature.

Photo by AFP

The Russian State Duma has approved in its final reading a bill on the teaching of “native languages” in schools that has angered representatives of many of the country’s ethnic minorities.

The bill approved on July 25 cancels the mandatory teaching of indigenous languages in Russia’s so-called ethnic regions and republics, where non-Russian ethnic groups are well-represented.