Verb burned: how the Russian language will be rid of rude borrowings

In the Russian Federation, it is necessary to consistently get rid of foreign borrowings that litter the Russian language: its protection will be ensured, in particular, by the foundations of the state language policy, the draft document has already been prepared. This was stated by Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Council for the Implementation of state policy in the field of support for the Russian language and the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation. The president also demanded not to delay the development of the law on the languages of the peoples of Russia. The head of state proposed celebrating the holiday of the same name on September 8, the birthday of the great poet Rasul Gamzatov. Separately, the head of state was interested in discussions about the volume of study of Alexander Pushkin's works — many experts were dissatisfied with the presence of his work only in the middle classes. What is wrong with school libraries in Russia and when will there be an analogue of the Pushkin Map for children from 3 to 6 years old — in the Izvestia article.

When will the Day of Languages of the Peoples of Russia be celebrated?

Russian Russian Language Day, which is traditionally celebrated on Alexander Pushkin's birthday, Vladimir Putin discussed the state and problems of the modern Russian language on June 5. The meeting of the relevant Council for the implementation of state policy lasted more than two hours: philologists, heads of educational institutions and museums, writers and artists spoke.

First of all, we talked about the Basics of the state language policy. The draft of this document has already been prepared, the President added. It is designed to ensure the development and protection of the Russian language as a key pillar, dominant of the all-Russian civic identity, as well as to create additional conditions for the preservation and support of the languages of all peoples of Russia.

— It is fundamentally important to consistently get rid of vulgar and mechanical foreign borrowings that do not enrich, but on the contrary, clog and distort our language. Especially if certain terms have long had analogues in the Russian language. And our historical Cyrillic alphabet should be used in the public space, not a mess of Latin letters and other symbols," the head of state said.

Some ways to deal with Anglicisms were also suggested at the meeting. In particular, Maxim Dreval, the head of the Znanie society, spoke about the launch of the pilot version of the game "Say it in Russian". It is a mobile game in the format of a mini-application that unites young people in an online space to enhance speech culture. Players need to replace English with Russian words, expanding their vocabulary.

— When developing the game, we tried to demonstrate that the Russian language has everything necessary to accurately, vividly and deeply convey any thoughts. It was fundamentally important for us to interest young people and make participation in the project exciting and meaningful. And now we can say with confidence that we are succeeding: in the first two weeks of testing, more than 100,000 people joined the game, which confirms the relevance and timeliness of our initiative," Maxim Dreval told Izvestia.

Vladimir Putin also demanded that the development of a new law on the languages of the peoples of Russia should not be delayed — it deals with the preservation and further development of the languages of the peoples of Russia. The draft version has already been prepared by the Council: it will create and introduce the State Register of the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation, systematize their statuses and the relationship between legislation on the languages of the peoples of Russia and legislation on the state language. The current law was adopted on October 25, 1991.

In addition, the Day of Languages of the Peoples of Russia will be established in the Russian Federation.: Vladimir Putin suggests celebrating it annually on September 8, the birthday of Rasul Gamzatov, the author of legendary poems, among them Cranes.

"He considered two languages to be his native tongue: Avar, in which he created, and Russian, thanks to which his works gained worldwide fame," the head of state noted.

What happens to the study of Pushkin's work in schools

Celebrating memorable dates associated with the geniuses of Russian literature remains one of the most effective tools for promoting the Russian language and literature. So, last year 2024 was dedicated to Alexander Pushkin. The current one is Sergey Yesenin, who will celebrate his 130th birthday in October. Preparations have already begun for the 200th anniversary of Leo Tolstoy, which will be celebrated in Russia in three years.

Now we have drawn attention to one of the main creators of landscape lyrics — Fyodor Tyutchev. 2028 will mark the 225th anniversary of his birth. Vladimir Putin instructed to mark this date with dignity and develop a draft decree on the preparation of the celebration.

— We often quote him: "You cannot understand Russia with your mind, you cannot measure it with a common yard..." But his legacy goes far beyond poetic forms. A publicist, statesman and politician, and diplomat, Tyutchev was a true patriot, an educated, broad-minded, and wise man. Addressing Europeans in one of his works — it was a work about relations between Russia and Germany, but in fact he addressed all Europeans — he wrote: Russia is ready to respect your historical legitimacy. But you, for your part, will learn to respect us in our unity and strength," the president said.

Work on a unified state line of textbooks on literature and the Russian language is in full swing. They will be ready within two years, said Sergey Kravtsov, the head of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. Presidential Adviser Elena Yampolskaya suggested including texts by young Russian authors in textbooks: the authorities have already made these proposals to modern Russian writers who write for children. At the same time, a whole discussion suddenly unfolded regarding one of the main authors of Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin.

Vladimir Putin asked me to tell him about what is happening with the study of the works of the great Russian poet in schools. Back in November 2023, Sergey Kravtsov said that up to 15% of the time in the program is devoted to studying his work in secondary school. He also clarified that in grades 10 and 11, Alexander Pushkin is studied through the attitude of other authors towards him. Now, the minister said that getting to know "our everything" begins in elementary school. Nevertheless, Elena Yampolskaya believes that the works of Alexander Pushkin should be present in the school curriculum from 1st to 11th grade. The Minister added that he was ready to make changes or additions to the school literature curriculum.

At the same time, the country does not forget about educating the youngest: by analogy with the "Pushkin Card", which allows schoolchildren to visit museums, theaters, cinemas, exhibitions, from 2026 a "Children's Book Card" with a face value of 3 thousand rubles will be launched — it will be given to families where preschoolers from the age of three to six years old. At the meeting, they even shared ideas on what it could be called. For example, Elena Yampolskaya suggested naming a new card the Golden Key, which opens the door to the world of great literature for a child.

— The publications that can be purchased with the help of a children's book card should be selected by recognized experts: well-known writers, child psychologists, specialists in preschool education and upbringing. And publishers who decide to participate in the program will need to focus on reasonable price parameters so that the face value of one card is enough to buy at least ten books," the president noted.

The situation with libraries turned out to be difficult: according to the results of monitoring, it turned out that there is a need for high-quality literature in the country. Moreover, according to Maria Vedenyapina, director of the Russian State Children's Library, libraries in small towns of the Russian Federation have a lot of problems. For example, in 2024, the funds of children's libraries were replenished with 5 million new books, but not all libraries received them.

In particular, we are talking about small libraries in small towns, and almost a fifth of rural libraries did not receive a single book last year. In turn, the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Olga Lyubimova, assured that the agency would work on this issue together with regional ministries. Vladimir Putin asked to pay attention to staffing and expressed the importance of literature reaching small settlements.

What will the first Russian language center in Russia look like?

The participants of the meeting offered many ideas on how to instill love and interest in the Russian language. For example, Elena Yampolskaya wants to hold a song poetry contest and give it the name of the poet Nikolai Dobronravov, who, together with his wife, composer Alexandra Pakhmutova, wrote many popular songs, including, for example, "Hope" and "Tenderness". Alexander Shaganov, a songwriter, is ready to head the jury of the competition, and Alexandra Pakhmutova herself is going to be invited to the honorary chairmanship.

The Znanie society also started talking about poetry, or rather, about the return of the practice of reading clubs at schools in the country. Maxim Dreval said that by the end of 2025, about a thousand of them may be created in Russia — they will read and discuss works of literature there. Many participants of the meeting, including the President, highly appreciated these ideas.

Russian Russian as a Foreign Language Department head Liliana Voronova said that she dreamed of creating a center where it would be possible to show the beauty of the Russian language. According to her, such a space will be in great demand among both Russian and foreign youth.

According to Elena Yampolskaya, they should be made on the basis of the national center "Russia" and in its future branches. The first branch is scheduled to open this fall in the Far East. These should be interactive centers where events, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops can be held. In their design, according to Liliana Voronova, it is necessary to start from what is only in the Russian language: to show the abundance of endings, the letter E, to illustrate the verbs of movement, to show regional vocabulary, to explain phrases from movies.

— It was very interesting what you said, and the direction is very important. I agree. We will do everything to support you," Vladimir Putin replied.

Separately, the head of state supported the proposal of the rector of the State Institute of the Russian Language named after A. S. Pushkin Nikita Gusev on the creation of a unified national interdepartmental scientific and methodological center for the promotion of the Russian language abroad. The Head of State called the idea promising and noted that it deserves careful consideration. He instructed the presidential administration and the Government to consider the possibility of creating such a center.