Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the importance of the Russian language in Uzbekistan, noting its role as a language of inter-ethnic communication, Kremlin.ru reports. The joint initiative "Klass!" aims to enhance the quality of Russian language teaching in Uzbekistan. Over 100 Russian teachers are involved in the initiative, which covers 85 schools and benefits more than 26,000 pupils.
"By the way, this initiative was proposed by the President of Uzbekistan", Putin said.
"The Russian side stresses its interest in continuing to provide ample opportunities for young people from Uzbekistan to receive a higher education in Russia. Currently, 63,000 Uzbek students are studying at Russian universities, including about 14,000 under Russian Government grants. As many as 14 Russian universities have branches in Uzbekistan", he added.
In 2020, the Russian Ministry of Education and the charitable foundation "Art, Science, Sports," led by Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov, pledged RUB 75 mn ($843,750) for the "Klass!" project, RIA Novosti reported. This initiative aims to promote the Russian language in Uzbekistan and involves the deployment of 150 Russian language teachers and numerous specialists to Uzbekistan. The project is set to continue until 2030, with plans to publish 100,000 Russian language textbooks, alongside 600,000 textbooks currently in development.
The Russian language has a long-standing presence in Uzbekistan. While the country's 1989 law designated Russian as a language of "inter-ethnic communication," a 1995 amendment following independence removed this status, leaving language choice for inter-ethnic communication to citizens, according to the lex.uz.
For many years after independence, promoting the Russian language was not a priority in Uzbekistan, as learning Russian was compulsory. It was taught as a foreign language from primary school through to secondary school graduation.
Earlier, Alisher Kadyrov, leader of the Central Council of the democratic party "National Revival", shared his thoughts on teaching children the Russian language and other foreign languages.
As for the Russian language ...
I have never denied that learning Russian is very useful for our youth, along with learning English, Chinese, Arabic and Persian, and I will not deny it again.
My proposal is simple and clear: children should not be taught from childhood any language other than their native and state language.Let our compatriots of other nationalities learn the value of their native language, let them learn the state language to live well in Uzbekistan, which they consider their homeland, that's all.
I have no doubt that the agreements reached during the Russian president's visit to Uzbekistan will serve Uzbekistan's interests. In difficult times, actions that correspond to the interests of our people, regardless of anyone's opinion, are one of the most important reasons for us to support the domestic and foreign policy of the head of state,’ Alisher Kadyrov said.
Before that, Alisher Kadyrov proposed a reduction in the utilization of the Russian language in educational settings and on television. The politician said that the Russian language is disproportionately used in Uzbekistan, where the Russian-speaking population does not reach 3% of the population.
In a mid-February interview with the Alter Ego project, Sherzodkhon Qudratkhoja, the rector of the University of Journalism and Mass Communications, remarked that individuals who are not fluent in the country's language are either 'occupiers or idiots.' Subsequently, Rossotrudnichestvo announced the termination of all communication with him.
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