Languages of the Soviet Union explained

The languages of the Soviet Union consist of hundreds of different languages and dialects from several different language groups.

In 1922, it was decreed that all nationalities in the Soviet Union had the right to education in their own language. The new orthography used the Cyrillic, Latin, or Arabic alphabet, depending on geography and culture. After 1937, all languages that had received new alphabets after 1917 began using the Cyrillic alphabet. This way, it would be easier for linguistic minorities to learn to write both Russian and their native language. Moreover, the Armenian and Georgian, as well as the Baltic Soviet Socialist Republics were the only Soviet republics to maintain their writing systems (Armenian, Georgian and Latin alphabets respectively).

Language policy

Background

Before the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian was the official language for the Russian Empire, with the exception of a few permitted languages in autonomous regions as Poland, Finland, and the Baltic provinces. Regional languages were discouraged or forbidden, as was the case of Ukrainian between 1876 and 1905. There was no explicit plan to enable non-Russians to learn Russian, and there was no possibility for other ethnic groups to develop their own culture and language.

In this period, some individual efforts developed written forms for some of these languages, but they had limited effect and they were focused on missionary activities. In the case of languages with written tradition, as Armenian, Georgian, Turkic languages of Central Asia, and Tajik, their writing system continued being used, but mainly in connection with religious education.

Soviet language policy

In 1914 Vladimir Lenin was opposed to the idea of a compulsory or official state language.[1] Equality of all peoples and of all languages was a commitment made by Lenin and his associates before and after the October Revolution.[2] As a result, no single language was designated for official use in the Soviet Union and the existence of the spoken languages of the national minorities was guaranteed. Everyone had the right to use their own language, both in private and public, as well as in correspondence with officials and while giving testimony in court. The USSR was a multilingual state, with around 130 languages spoken natively. Discrimination on the basis of language was illegal under the Soviet Constitution, though the status of its languages differed.

However, the Soviet Union faced the problem of unifying the country, and for that reason, Russian was selected as the common language to facilitate communication between members of different ethnic groups.

In 1975, Brezhnev said "under developed socialism, when the economies in our country have melted together in a coherent economic complex; when there is a new historical concept—the Soviet people—it is an objective growth in the Russian language's role as the language of international communications when one builds Communism, in the education of the new man! Together with one's own mother tongue one will speak fluent Russian, which the Soviet people have voluntarily accepted as a common historical heritage and contributes to a further stabilization of the political, economic and spiritual unity of the Soviet people."

Developing writing systems

Few of the languages of the Soviet state had written forms. One of the first priorities of the Soviet state was the creation of writing systems and the development of literacy programs. New or modified writing systems were adopted for over half of the languages spoken in the territory during the early Post-revolutionary years. In some particular cases, preparatory work was required before the creation of an orthography due to the lack of previous linguistic analysis, as in the case of languages of the Far North.

When a language already had a writing system, there were attempts for making it easier to learn and accessible. As part of this policy, in 1918 Russian orthography was simplified removing orthographic distinctions without phonetic counterpart.[3] Phonemic or close to phonemic orthographies weren't modified, such as Armenian, Georgian, or Chuvash.

Writing systems based on the Arabic script caused major problems because they were poorly adapted to indicate phonemic differences that are found in Turkic languages or North-East Caucasian languages. A first attempt tried to create a simplified form of Arabic script. However, the task was abandoned. Instead, the Latin alphabet was used for all languages of the Soviet Union without a traditional alphabetical writing system, avoiding the impression that the policy was a Russification attempt.

Written forms were developed for several languages with a very small number of speakers, such as the Finno-Ugric languages Karelian, Veps, and Sámi. However, many of these writing systems had a short life. In the case of Itelmen, never was put into practical use. Other languages that received their writing systems during the 1920s and early 1930s kept using them, such as Nanai, Nivkh, Koryak, Chuckchi, Khanty, and Mansi.

Distribution and status

East Slavic languages (Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian) dominated in the European part of the Soviet Union, the Baltic languages Lithuanian and Latvian, and the Finnic language Estonian were used next to Russian in the Baltic region, while Moldovan (the only Romance language in the union) was used in the southwest region. In the Caucasus alongside Russian there were Armenian, Azeri and Georgian. In the Russian far north, there were several minority groups who spoke different Uralic languages; most of the languages in Central Asia were Turkic with the exception of Tajik, which is an Iranian language.

Although the USSR did not have de jure an official language over most of its history, until 1990,[4] and Russian was merely defined as the language of interethnic communication (Russian: язык межнационального общения), it assumed de facto the role of official language.[5] For its role and influence in the USSR, see Russification.

On a second level were the languages of the other 14 Union Republics. In line with their de jure status in a federal state, they had a small formal role at the Union level (being e.g. present in the Coat of arms of the USSR and its banknotes) and as the main language of its republic. Their effective weight, however, varied with the republic (from strong in places like in Armenia to weak in places like in Byelorussia), or even inside it.

Of these fourteen languages, two are often considered varieties of other languages: Tajik of Persian, and Moldovan of Romanian. Strongly promoted use of Cyrillic in many republics however, combined with lack of contact, led to the separate development of the literary languages. Some of the former Soviet republics, now independent states, continue to use the Cyrillic alphabet at present (such as Kyrgyzstan), while others have opted to use the Latin alphabet instead (such as Turkmenistan and Moldova  - although the unrecognized Transnistria officially uses the Cyrillic alphabet).

The Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union and other subdivision of the USSR lacked even this de jure autonomy, and their languages had virtually no presence at the national level (and often, not even in the urban areas of the republic itself). They were, however, present in education (although often only at lower grades).

Some smaller languages with very dwindling small communities, like Livonian, were neglected, and weren't present either in education or in publishing.

Several languages of non-titular nations, like German, Korean or Polish, although having sizable communities in the USSR, and in some cases being present in education and in publishing, were not considered to be Soviet languages. On the other hand, Finnish, although not generally considered a language of the USSR, was an official language of the Karelia and its predecessor as a Soviet republic. Also Yiddish and Romani were considered Soviet languages.

Languages by family, distribution and status!Language Family!Language!Official in!Distribution!Status[6]
Indo-European > Slavic > East SlavicRussianSpoken in all republicsSafe
UkrainianUkrainian SSR, Russian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Estonian SSR, Moldavian SSR, Georgian SSRSafe
BelarusianByelorussian SSR, Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSRPotentially vulnerable
RusynUkrainian SSREndangered/unsafe
Indo-European > Slavic > West SlavicPolishUkrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Estonian SSR
SlovakUkrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Georgian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Indo-European > Slavic > South SlavicBulgarianUkrainian SSR, Moldavian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Indo-European > BalticLatvianLatvian SSRSafe
LatgalianLatvian SSRPotentially vulnerable
LithuanianLithuanian SSRSafe
Indo-European > Germanic > North GermanicNorwegianRussian SSR
SwedishEstonian SSR, Ukrainian SSRCritically endangered
Indo-European > Germanic > West GermanicGermanVolga German ASSRRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSR
Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic > High GermanYiddishRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic > North Sea GermanicPlautdietschKazakh SSR
Indo-European > Romance > RomanianMoldovan (Romanian)Moldavian ASSRMoldavian SSR, Ukrainian SSRSafe
Indo-European > Romance > Italo-WesternItalianUkrainian SSR
Indo-European > AlbanianAlbanianUkrainian SSR
Indo-European > Hellenic > Attic-IonicPontic GreekRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Armenian SSR, Kazakh SSRDefinitely endangered
Indo-European > ArmenianEastern ArmenianNagorno-Karabakh AOArmenian SSRSafe
Western ArmenianArmenian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Indo-European > Armenian & RomaniLomavrenArmenian SSRCritically endangered
Indo-European > Indo-Aryan > RomaniBaltic RomaniRussian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSREndangered/unsafe
Sinte RomaniKazakh SSR
Northern Vlax RomaniUkrainian SSR, Moldovian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Northern Balkan RomaniUkrainian SSR, Moldovian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Southern Central RomaniUkrainian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Indo-European > Indo-AryanParyaTajik SSR, Uzbek SSRDefinitely endangered
Indo-European > Iranian > West IranianTajikTajik SSRPotentially vulnerable
Bukharian Dialect (Judeo-Tajik)Tajik SSR, Uzbek SSRDefinitely endangered
Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish)Azerbaijan SSR, Russian SSR, Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR,Definitely endangered
TatDagestan ASSRAzerbaijan SSR, Russian SSRSeverely endangered
Juhuri (Judeo-Tat)Azerbaijan SSR, Russian SSREndangered/unsafe
TalyshAzerbaijan SSRPotentially vulnerable
Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > ScythianOssetianNorth Ossetian ASSRSouth Ossetian AOGeorgian SSR, Russian SSREndangered/unsafe
YaghnobiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Scythian/PamiriWakhiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > PamiriRushaniTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
ShughniTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
YazghulamiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
BartangiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
IshkashimiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
KhufiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
SanglechiTajik SSREndangered/unsafe
KartvelianGeorgianGeorgian SSRSafe
Kivruli/Gruzinic Dialect(Judeo-Georgian)Georgian SSREndangered/unsafe
SvanGeorgian SSR, Russian SSREndangered/unsafe
MingrelianGeorgian SSR, Russian SSRDefinitely endangered
LazGeorgian SSREndangered/unsafe
Northwest CaucasianAbkhazGeorgian SSRPotentially vulnerable
AbazaRussian SSREndangered/unsafe
Kabardian (East Circassian)Kabardino-Balkarian ASSRKarachay-Cherkess AORussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Adyghe (West Circassian)Russian SSREndangered/unsafe
UbykhRussian SSRExtinct
Northeast Caucasian > NakhChechenChecheno-Ingush ASSRDagestan ASSRRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Kazakh SSR, Georgian SSRPotentially vulnerable
IngushChecheno-Ingush ASSRRussian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR, Turkmen SSRPotentially vulnerable
BatsGeorgian SSRSeverely endangered
Northeast Caucasian > Avar-AndicAvarDagestan ASSRRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Kazakh SSRPotentially vulnerable
AndiRussian SSREndangered/unsafe
TindiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
BagvalalRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
AkhvakhRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSRDefinitely endangered
Karata-TukitaRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
BotlikhRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
GodoberiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
ChamalalRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
Northeast Caucasian > DarginDargwaDagestan ASSRRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
KaitagRussian SSR
KubachiRussian SSR
ItsariRussian SSR
ChiragRussian SSRSeverely endangered
Northeast Caucasian > KhinalugKhinalugAzerbaijan SSRDefinitely endangered
Northeast Caucasian > LakLakDagestan ASSRRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Northeast Caucasian > LezgicArchiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
LezgianDagestan ASSRRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSRPotentially vulnerable
TabasaranDagestan ASSRRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSRPotentially vulnerable
AghulRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSRDefinitely endangered
RutulRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSREndangered/unsafe
TsakhurRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSREndangered/unsafe
UdiRussian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSRDefinitely endangered
KrytsAzerbaijan SSR
JekAzerbaijan SSR
BudukhAzerbaijan SSRDefinitely endangered
Northeast Caucasian > TsezicTsezRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
BezhtaRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
HunzibRussian SSR, Georgian SSRDefinitely endangered
KhwarshiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
HinuqRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
Uralic > Balto-FinnicEstonianEstonian SSRSafe
VõroEstonian SSREndangered/unsafe
Seto dialectEstonian SSR
KarelianKarelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSRDefinitely endangered
FinnishKarelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSRSafe
IngrianRussian SSR, Karelo-Finnish SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSRSeverely endangered
LudicKarelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSR
VoticKarelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSRCritically endangered
LivonianLatvian SSRCritically endangered
VepsKarelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSRSeverely endangered
Uralic > SámiKildin SámiRussian SSRSeverely endangered
Ter SámiRussian SSRCritically endangered
Skolt SámiRussian SSRCritically endangered
Akkala SámiRussian SSRExtinct
Uralic > PermicKomi-ZyrianKomi ASSRRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Komi-PermyakKomi-Permyak Autonomous OkrugRussian SSREndangered/unsafe
Komi-YazvaRussian SSRSeverely endangered
UdmurtUdmurt ASSRRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSRDefinitely endangered
MariMari ASSRRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Uralic > MordvinicErzyaMordovian ASSRRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
MokshaMordovian ASSRRussian SSREndangered/unsafe
Uralic > SamoyedicTundra NenetsNenets AOYamalo-Nenets AORussian SSRDefinitely endangered
Forest NenetsRussian SSRSeverely endangered
EnetsRussian SSRCritically endangered
SelkupRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
NganasanRussian SSRSeverely endangered
KamassianRussian SSRExtinct
Uralic > Ugric > KhantySalekhard (Northern) KhantyRussian SSRSeverely endangered
Surgut (Eastern) KhantyRussian SSRCritically endangered
Southern KhantyRussian SSRExtinct
Uralic > Ugric > MansiCentral MansiRussian SSRSeverely endangered
Northern MansiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
Southern MansiRussian SSRExtinct
Uralic > UgricHungarianUkrainian SSRSafe
Turkic > OghuricChuvashChuvash ASSRRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Turkic > KipchakKazakhKazakh SSRPotentially vulnerable
KyrgyzKirghiz SSR
TatarRussian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Kirghiz SSRPotentially vulnerable
Crimean TatarRussian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSRSeverely endangered
Ukrainian SSR, Moldavian SSR
Siberian TatarRussian SSREndangered/unsafe
BashkirRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
UrumUkrainian SSR, Georgian SSRDefinitely endangered
KrymchakRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSRCritically endangered
KaraimRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Lithuanian SSRCritically endangered
NogaiDagestan ASSRKarachay-Cherkess AORussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSRDefinitely endangered
KumykDagestan ASSRRussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSRPotentially vulnerable
Karachay-BalkarKabardino-Balkarian ASSRKarachay-Cherkess AORussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
KarakalpakKazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR, Turkmen SSRPotentially vulnerable
Southern AltaiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
FerganaUzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Tajik SSRExtinct
Turkic > KarlukUzbekUzbek SSRSafe
UighurUzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Tajik SSRPotentially vulnerable
Ili TurkiKazakh SSRCritically endangered
Chagatai
Turkic > OghuzTurkmenTurkmen SSRPotentially vulnerable
AzerbaijaniDagestan ASSRAzerbaijan SSRPotentially vulnerable
Meskhetian Dialect(Turkish)Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Kazakh SSR,Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR
GagauzMoldavian SSR, Ukrainian SSRPotentially vulnerable
Turkic > Siberian TurkicNorthern AltaiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
KhakasKhakas AORussian SSRDefinitely endangered
TuvanRussian SSR
ShorRussian SSRSeverely endangered
YakutYakut ASSRRussian SSR
DolganRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
ChulymRussian SSRSeverely endangered
TofaRussian SSR
SoyotRussian SSR
Afro-Asiatic > SemiticCentral Asian ArabicUzbek SSR, Tajik SSRDefinitely endangered
Neo-AramaicArmenian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSRSafe
MongolicBuryatRussian SSR
KalmykRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
OiratKirghiz SSR
Khamnigan MongolRussian SSR
MongolianRussian SSRPotentially vulnerable
TungusicEvenkiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
EvenRussian SSRSeverely endangered
NanaiRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
NegidalRussian SSRSeverely endangered
KiliRussian SSRSeverely endangered
OrochRussian SSRSeverely endangered
UdegeRussian SSR
UiltaRussian SSR
UlchRussian SSRCritically endangered
Chukotko-KamchatkanChukchiChukotka AORussian SSRDefinitely endangered
KoryakRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
AlyutorRussian SSRCritically endangered
KerekRussian SSRExtinct
ItelmenRussian SSRSeverely endangered
Language IsolateNivkhRussian SSRSeverely endangered
YukaghirTundra YukaghirRussian SSRCritically endangered
Southern YukaghirRussian SSRCritically endangered
Inuit-AleutSiberian YupikRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
AleutRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
NaukanRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
Old SirenikRussian SSRExtinct
YeniseianKetRussian SSRDefinitely endangered
Language isolateAinuRussian SSRExtinct in Russia, critically endangered in Japan
Sino-TibetanDunganRussian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSREndangered/unsafe
Taz Dialect (Mandarin)Russian SSRExtinct
KoreanicKoryo-Mar (Central Asian Korean)Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, Turkmen SSR, Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR
DravidianBrahuiTurkmen SSRPotentially vulnerable

Distribution of Russian in 1989

Ethnic group
Total
(in thousands)		Speakers (in thousands)Percentage
TotalTotal
Russians145,155144,836219145,15599.80.2100
Non-Russian140,58718,74368,79187,53313.348.962.3
Ukrainians44,1868,30924,82033,12818.856.275.0
Uzbeks16,6981203,9814,1000.723.824.6
Belarusians10,0362,8625,4878,34928.554.783.2
Kazakhs8,1361834,9175,1002.260.462.7
Azerbaijanis6,7701132,3252,4391.734.336.0
Tatars6,6491,0684,7065,77416.170.886.8
Armenians4,6233522,1782,5307.647.154.7
Tajiks4,215351,1661,2000.827.728.5
Georgians3,981661,3161,3821.733.134.7
Moldovans3,3522491,8052,0547.453.861.3
Lithuanians3,067551,1631,2181.837.939.7
Turkmens2,729277577831.027.728.7
Kyrgyz2,529158909050.635.235.8
Germans2,0391,0359181,95350.845.095.8
Chuvash1,8424291,1991,62823.365.188.4
Latvians1,459739401,0135.064.469.4
Bashkirs1,4491621,0411,20311.271.883.0
Jews1,3781,1941401,33486.610.196.7
Mordvins1,1543777221,09932.762.595.2
Poles1,12632349581728.643.972.6
Estonians1,027453483934.433.938.2
Others12,1401,6517,4799,13013.661.675.2
Total285,743163,89868,791232,68957.424.181.4

See also

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lenin. Vladimir. Lenin: Is a Compulsory Official Language Needed?. 2020-12-11. www.marxists.org.
  2. Book: Comrie, Bernard. The Languages of the Soviet Union. Cambridge University Press. 1981.
  3. Comrie, B., & Stone, G. (1978). The Russian language since the revolution. Oxford [Eng.]: Clarendon Press.
  4. In early 20th century, there had been a discussion over the need to introduce Russian as the official language of Russian Empire. The dominant view among Bolsheviks at that time was that there is no need for state language. See: "Нужен ли обязательный государственный язык?" by Lenin (1914). Staying with the Lenin's view, not state language was declared in the Soviet state.
    In 1990 the Russian language was declared as the official language of USSR and the constituent republics had rights to declare additional state languages within their jurisdictions. See Article 4 of the Law on Languages of Nations of USSR.
  5. Bernard Comrie, The Languages of the Soviet Union, page 31, the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1981.
  6. Web site: UNESCO World Atlas of Languages .

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