Governor of the Kurgan region Vadim Shumkov recently called Estonians “Chukhons”. “In “Old Russia” this part of the country was called Chukhonia,” the governor said. “A lot of water has flowed under the bridge, a lot has changed, including the official names. joking government official also expressed confidence that Estonians will soon begin to speak Russian again, “and with a touchingly retarded accent.”
Needless to say, in today’s Russia, the imperial, dismissive “language of international relations” in relation to different peoples seems to have become accustomed to. The Russian media call Chekhov “seamstresses”, Ukrainians – “dill” and “Nazis”, the Baltic states – “sprats” and so on. Great and powerful is the Russian language, this is not some “bird language of diplomacy” with halftones, allusions and hidden signals. Since last spring, Russian officials put into circulation a special term “Anglo-Saxons”, which symbolizes “the real enemies of modern Russia.” For example, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova statedthat the Anglo-Saxons “need a war”, so they, it turns out, are trying to unleash this war: “Provocations, disinformation and threats are a favorite method for solving their own problems. The skating rink … of the military-political machine is ready to go through people’s lives again.”
Under the “Anglo-Saxons” in the Russian Foreign Ministry, most likely, they mean a conglomerate of the United States and Great Britain. It is unlikely that Russian officials include in this community all the major English-speaking countries of the world, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand. And of course, when denouncing the Anglo-Saxons as the main enemy of Russia, they do not think about the group of Germanic tribes that dominated the British Isles from the 5th to the 11th centuries. According to ideas Kremlin, it’s time to save the world from “the stupidity of the Anglo-Saxons.”
Some politicians in Russia took this call extremely seriously and started by learning English, or rather, suggestions to stop studying it. Speaker of the State Council of the annexed Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, who came up with such an extravagant initiative, thinksthat “the English have been at war with us for a thousand years.” Therefore, he is sure that it is not necessary to spend school time on English, because because of it “there may not be enough hours for other subjects.” I wonder what these things are? A “special military operation” that cannot be called a war is making changes to the curriculum. Seven-year-olds from the first grade will now study history (from textbooks written in accordance with “national interests”), there will also be regular “talks about the important” in a new format of class hours: about “the values of Russian society enshrined in the national security strategy.”
Most recently, when the World Cup was held in Russia, the whole country was learning English
The State Duma has already developed a draft law to combat Anglicisms. According to the deputy Elena Yampolskaya, who is fighting “with the dominance of English words in the cultural space”, “the project is aimed, among other things, at toughening the fight against borrowings from other languages on outdoor signs.” Business immediately demonstrated loyalty to the regime by responding to calls for the Russification of names. Instead of leaving the country McDonald’s brand “Vkusno i Tochka” appeared in Russia, marketplace website Wildberries changed its name to “Berries”, the Aviasales service became known as “Tickets”.
Most recently, when the World Cup was held in Russia (this was in 2018), the whole country was learning English. “Anglo-Saxons” did not frighten anyone then. Taxi drivers and police officers were required to attend foreign language courses, in English translated everywhere signs, signs, announcements in the subway and so on. Why is the country now home-grown “berries”? To unleash a war in Ukraine and cancel English lessons at school? Here in North Korea, as you know, they keep the study of English under strict control: children do not have access to foreign books, since they may contain information that contradicts the Juche ideology.
Elena Sorokina – journalist and political scientist
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