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Description
During the period of post-Soviet transformation, language policy in the Russian Federation is characterized by a tension between centralized governance and regional autonomy. The article investigates the trajectories of three Turkic languages – Tatar, Bashkir, and Sakha or Yakut) – in navigating national language maintenance within the context of evolving federal regulations. Challenging the concept of “language crisis” as synonymous with decline, this paper adopts a comparative, evidence-based approach to reveal regionally varied strategies for sustaining linguistic vitality. The research draws on legislative documents, census and educational data, and public discourse from 2000 to 2025 to examine how each republic copes with the interplay between federal language politics and local linguistic identity. The analysis shows a spectrum of outcomes: Tatarstan maintains strong institutional continuity amid growing social challenges; Bashkortostan exhibits a reduced public visibility of the Bashkir language, and Sakha Republic (Yakutia) demonstrates significant resilience, supported by regional infrastructure and demographic strength. By presenting factual analysis of policy outcomes and sociolinguistic trends, this study argues that the situation reflects a spectrum of adaptation shaped by demographic, institutional, and cultural variables, which may not always be evaluated as a language crisis. The findings demonstrate that even within the constraints of centralized governance, the preservation of minority languages is achievable, contingent upon coherent community engagement and regional agency.
| Keywords | language policy, Tatar, Bashkir, Sakha, post-Soviet Russia, minority languages, comparative sociolinguistics. |
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| alina.minsafina@istanbul.edu.tr |