Abstract
THE "LAW ON NATIONAL LANGUAGES" OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: PERCEPTION IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS AND THE CAUCASIAN (CIRCASSIAN) DIASPORA
In April 2018, a group of russian deputies submitted a proposal to the State Duma for an optional, rather than compulsory, study of native languages in Russian schools (amendments to the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Education", which are also known as the "Law on National Languages"). This proposal caused a strong negative reaction of Caucasian and other peoples of Russia and diaspora, especially in Turkey against "discriminatory and asimilation policy" of Russian authorities. As a result of the demands of the united protest movement, the text of the amendments was adjusted, but the protest activity still remains. The authors use discourse and event study analysis to examine the perception in the North Caucasus and the Caucasian (Circassian) Diaspora of these amendments. As the study conducted by us showed, protest activities, both in Russia and in Turkey, had similar forms, but differed in content.
Keywords
North Caucasus, Circassians, Russia, diaspora, language
