Kyrgyzstan’s parliament on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) passed a law to strengthen the use of the Kyrgyz language over Russian, a move that comes with Moscow’s influence across Central Asia waning amid its invasion of Ukraine.
The five ex-Soviet states in the region have taken steps to promote and reinforce their national identities since February 2022, when Russia ordered troops into Ukraine, another former Soviet state that Moscow sees as part of its sphere of influence.
Under the new law, at least 60% of content broadcast on TV and radio must be in Kyrgyz, place names must be written in Kyrgyz and Kyrgyz text on advertisements must appear larger than Russian.
Around 80% of Kyrgyzstan’s seven million people speak Russian, which is commonly used for daily communication.
“If we are so indifferent to the Kyrgyz language, then in the years to come we will cease to be a nation,” said the speaker of the parliament, Nurlanbek Turgunbek Uulu.
The measures also require public officials, including judges, civil servants, prosecutors, and elected figures, to be proficient in Kyrgyz.
Some lawmakers expressed concern that many civil servants do not have a good enough grasp of Kyrgyz, which could create staffing problems in parliament.
Kyrgyz and Russian are both state languages. Across Central Asia, speaking Russian is still associated with a higher social status, giving access to more prestigious jobs and the opportunity to labour migrants to travel to Russia for work.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which Moscow claims was partly motivated by the desire to protect ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in its east – has concerned leaders in the region.
Some Russian politicians have hit back at Central Asia’s attempts to strengthen national identities, accusing them of seeking to distance themselves from their ally.
Published – June 25, 2025 11:09 pm IST
