SAEDNEWS: In a sweeping new doctrine, Vladimir Putin has tasked the Russian state with shielding and promoting its national tongue overseas, branding international inaction as a threat to cultural sovereignty.
According to Saed News, the presidential decree published on July 11 obliges the Russian government “to preserve, develop and support” the Russian language domestically and abroad, casting it as “a key element of cultural identity and an instrument of global influence.” This move formalises Moscow’s long‑standing Russkiy Mir (Russian World) strategy, which leverages language as a pillar of soft power.
The doctrine explicitly singles out “attempts by some foreign countries to limit (or reduce) the sphere of Russian‑language use” as a primary cultural threat. It also decries the “unwarranted use of foreign words” in official discourse where established Russian equivalents exist—an implicit rebuke to global linguistic trends and, perhaps, to the spread of English‑language media.
To counter these pressures, the policy mandates measures including the expansion of Russian‑language resources online, the development of curricula for foreign learners, and intensified outreach to diasporas and sympathetic audiences. It further pledges state support for indigenous tongues within Russia’s republics, framing linguistic unity as essential to national cohesion.
Observers note that by elevating language policy to the level of national security, the Kremlin is recasting benign linguistic preferences as geopolitical imperatives. Against a backdrop of post‑2022 anti‑Russian sentiment in Europe and beyond, the doctrine signals that, in Moscow’s view, “someone speaking Russian” is no longer a mere cultural fact but a frontline in ideological contestation. Whether this decree will bolster Russia’s soft‑power reach—or simply deepen linguistic divides—remains an open question.
