Tag: Chuvashia

Staunton, November 3 – In the final decades of the Soviet Union, many in the non-Russian union republics began to ask why some of them were headed by members of their titular nationalities and others by Russians and increasingly demanded that members of the titular nation occupy key posts. Over time, Moscow backed down, first […]

Staunton, January 1 – Hector Alos i Font, a Catalonian linguist who has been working in Chuvashia, says that the Chuvash language has improved its position relative to Russian as measured by signs put out for the New Year’s holiday, but that the language of the titular nationality has a long way to go before […]

Staunton, December 9 – The Chuvash, a Christian Turkic nation which has its own republic in the Middle Volga, are, by virtue of their activism on behalf of their own language and culture, becoming the bridge between the Turkic nations like the Tatars and Bashkirs and the Finno-Ugric peoples like the Mari. They have traditionally […]

Staunton, October 19 – Refugees from Ukraine apparently will not have to study non-Russian languages as required by the legislation of the non-Russian republics but instead will be exposed to more intensive Russian language instruction, yet another way in which Moscow is undermining the status of non-Russian tongues. Because of the sensitivity of language issues […]

Staunton, October 8 – Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Cheboksary, the capital of Chuvashia, October 9. In advance of his arrival, local officials linguistically “cleansed” the streets along which he passed, removing those which were in Chuvash and leaving only those in Russian. This violation of both the Russian law on languages and the Chuvash […]

Staunton, May 2 – The Crimean Tatars today are an inspiration and model for the non-Russians of the Russian Federation because they simultaneously defend the fundamental rights of their own nation and insist that they are part of the Ukrainian state, according to a Chuvash journal. “Looking at that energy with which the Crimean Tatars […]

Staunton, April 14 – Ethnic tensions are high in many parts of the Russian Federation and will continue to do so, according to a study carried out by the Club of the Regions and the Center for the Study of Ethnic Conflicts, until Moscow recognizes that focusing on organizations rather than ideas — as it […]

Staunton, March 22 – Despite a requirement in Tatarstan’s constitution, that Middle Volga republic has never adopted a law officially making Kazan its capital, a shortcoming that likely reflects Moscow’s efforts to downgrade republic status but one that is infuriating many in the city because it is costing them revenue and undermining their status. In […]