ELL: Language policies in USSR

[Pierre Bancel]

Benvolgut Juan Carlos,

Things might well have been a little bit different
from what you think in the former USSR.

Minority people of Siberia have been destroyed since
the years 1920's by forced collectivization, their
children locked up year-long, from the age of 3 to 17,
in schools where any other language than Russian was
prohibited.

The present situation, where many Siberian languages
are dying out or bound to short term extinction, is
essentially a result of this catastrophic policy, not
very different in essence from those of many Western
countries in the XXth century.

Small wonder, in my opinion; just think that the
Chukchi and Yakut in the Kolyma region were living
under direct authority of the Gulag administration,
not precisely known to have been run by wild
humanists.

You will find interesting information on these
subjects and related ones in "Sibérie I, II & III",
ed. by Boris Chichlo in the Institut d'Etudes slaves
(Paris, France).

Adissias,

Pierre

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