Kadyrov: New Russian Law could harm respect for Russian Language

Alisher Kadyrov, a deputy of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and head of the Democratic Party “National Revival” (Milliy tiklanish) faction, has reacted to the approval of a controversial law in Russia. The law, which prohibits schools from admitting children of immigrants who do not know Russian, was recently approved by the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. Kadyrov shared his thoughts on the matter through his Telegram page.

“Our Russian colleagues have chosen the path of expelling those who do not know it from Russia, and children from school, rather than teaching them Russian. This law can drastically reduce both the need for and respect for the Russian language in post-Soviet countries,” Kadyrov wrote.

At the same time, he highlighted a parallel issue within Uzbekistan, stating that thousands of compatriots and their children, who do not know the Uzbek state language, are employed in government institutions or studying in schools.

Kadyrov emphasized that the positive and negative aspects of Russia’s new approach would be carefully analyzed to address the concerns of the electorate in Uzbekistan.

The Federation Council of the Russian Federation recently approved a law requiring migrant children to pass a Russian language proficiency test before being admitted to schools. Children who fail the test will be denied admission. The Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor) is tasked with developing test materials, setting assessment criteria, and determining minimum passing scores.

Additionally, schools will be prohibited from admitting children who are in Russia illegally or without proper documentation. If adopted, the law will come into force on April 1, 2025.