Kazakhstan Reduces Russian Language Status Amid Ukraine War & Russia’s Declining Influence

Kazakhstan is revising its constitution to alter the legal status of the Russian language, according to reports from RBC-Ukraine. The proposed change would replace a formulation stating Russian is used “equally with” Kazakh with a provision stating it is used “alongside” Kazakh.

While described as a largely formal adjustment, the move reflects a broader trend in Kazakhstan toward diminishing Russian influence, according to a recent assessment by the Counter Disinformation Center. The Center’s report indicates a gradual shift toward Kazakh as the dominant language in state administration, education and public life.

This development occurs against a backdrop of strained relations between Kazakhstan and Russia following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In December 2023, Kazakhstan took steps to prevent Russian citizens from using local banks to launder money and circumvent international sanctions, a move signaling a growing divergence in policy.

The Counter Disinformation Center suggests that Russia is losing ground in Central Asia as its focus remains fixed on the war in Ukraine. “While the Kremlin is focused on the war against Ukraine, Russia continues to lose its positions in Central Asia,” the Center stated.

Kazakhstan’s linguistic policies are also unfolding in parallel with Russia’s own efforts to reinforce Russian language and cultural dominance in occupied Ukrainian territories. The Kremlin reportedly aims for 95 percent of the population in those regions to identify as “Russian” by 2036.

Ukraine has also recently taken steps to assert its linguistic identity. The Ukrainian parliament recently approved changes to the design of Ukrainian passports, removing Russian language from the text of the documents used for international travel.

According to Wikipedia, the Kazakh language is part of the Kipchak subgroup of the Turkic language family and is the state language of Kazakhstan. Approximately 18 million people worldwide speak Kazakh. The language has transitioned through various writing systems, from Arabic script until 1929, to Latin script from 1929-1940, and finally to a modified Cyrillic alphabet in 1940, which remains in use today, although a return to Latin script has been proposed and legislated to occur by 2025.