In domestic and foreign media, a term such as “Russification” is often found. This concept is perceived differently. Some believe that universal knowledge of the Russian language is an absolute achievement. Others remain of the opinion that Russification is an absolute evil. So what's the truth?
Empire Formation
It should be noted that until the beginning of the 19th century, the problems of Russification did not exist as such. The Russian empire was only getting on its feet, and its main task was to consolidate its own borders at distant frontiers. The peoples who accepted the citizenship of the Russian tsar, and the officials who led them, existed, as it were, on two different planes.
The intersection of these two layers of the population practically did not occur. Only after the establishment of full control over the annexed territories did the Russification policy appear. The administration of Alexander I took up not only wallets, but also the minds of the annexed peoples, offering them their own language, their faith and their culture.
The first attempts to Russification
Initially, the heads of administrations sharply limited the share of local people in government. It was not allowed to use native languages in business and commercial correspondence, schools teaching in their native languages were closed, church books were forbidden, in which there was no Slavic text. In areas dominated by other religions, the spread of Orthodox Christianity was encouraged. In Poland and Belarus, Catholics were forbidden to hold public office, to be journalists, teachers, publishers. The phrase of the most active supporter of Russification in the tsarist administration of Count Muravyov is widely known: "Everything that the bayonets did not finish, the priests, officials and schools will complete."
Gradually, Russian officials and the local population assimilated, and Russification took place. This word meant the dominance of Russian-language information and culture to the detriment of local traditions and languages. The natives of the wealthy strata of the population tried to preserve a warm bureaucratic place for their children or offer them career growth. All this was impossible without knowledge of the Russian language, in which office work was usually conducted.
So was the Russification of Russia. So the Russian language and Russian mentality supplanted the national identity of representatives of other nations.
Russification in the Soviet Union
At the dawn of the formation of Soviet power, an active struggle was carried out against rampant illiteracy. The Bolsheviks paid special attention to education, and this mainly concerned children and adolescents. All children should have received secondary education, and Russian became the main language of communication. The problem of the revival of national languages and cultures was carried out very carefully, almost froze during the war. But during the so-called thaw, more and more time was devoted to the revival of national cultures.
Russification today
Currently, the meaning of the term “Russification” has been practically revised. This concept today should mean familiarization with Russian culture and its rich heritage. After all, no one denies that the Russian language is currently of international importance. At the same time, one cannot ignore the process of developing national self-identification of the peoples inhabiting Russia, and do not pay attention to the development of their cultures.