Representative of the Russian Foreign ministry, Mrs. Eleonora Mitrofanova, notes that the status of the Russian language in Latvia and Estonia evokes serious concern from the legal point of view       

TASS reports that speaking at roundtable, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO Eleonora Mitrofanova claimed that former Soviet republics should grant a legal status to the Russian language.

The roundtable was dedicated to the discussion of the Russia’s language policy and the international position of the Russian language.

“There are a number of challenges the Russian language faces nowadays and its status in the CIS countries is the most important matter to be discussed and settled.  The development and legal confirmation of the Russian language status by the CIS countries’ constitutions and in their practice is our first priority goal,” Mrs. Mitrofanova declared.

According to her, the Russian language is considered a lingua franca in the CIS countries but its status is neither confirmed legally nor explained in legal terms.  Apart from that, Russian is even losing its status of a lingua franca in many CIS countries. The diplomat gave the examples of Ukraine, Georgia, and Baltic Countries where young people can hardly speak it.

The status of the Russian language in Latvia and Estonia poses a concern from the legal viewpoint.  Most people living in the countries are good at Russian but the status of the language is not confirmed legally.

The Russia’s MFA representative emphasized on the fact that the Russian language is discriminated against the state languages and that relates to education in the first place.

“It is vitally important to make special efforts in order to promote the Russian language throughout foreign countries. The matter of granting the Russian language a legal status in former Soviet republics should be raised at high level,” Mrs. Mitrofanova underlined.