OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities discusses language, education and citizenship on first official visit to Russian Federation

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited the Russian Federation for the first time since taking up his mandate from 23 June to 1 July 2021.

Abdrakhmanov met with the authorities to discuss the situation of national minorities living in Russia as well as Russia’s concerns about national minorities residing in other countries, and took stock of inter-ethnic relations in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

In Moscow, the High Commissioner met with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Head of the Nationalities Committee of the State Duma Valery Gazzaev to discuss minority issues, with a particular emphasis on language, education and citizenship. He also exchanged views with representatives of the specially designated Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, of the Ministry of Culture and of the Public Chamber. He also took the opportunity to meet with experts in the field of inter-ethnic relations, including representatives of academia, civil society and the religious community.

On 29 June, the High Commissioner visited Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, where the state languages are Bashkir and Russian, where he was able to assess inter-ethnic relations first-hand. Abdrakhmanov discussed the impact of recent changes to the education policy with the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov, the Chairperson of the State Assembly (Kurultai) Konstantin Tolkachev and other local authorities.

“The Republic of Bashkortostan has a long tradition of promoting constructive and harmonious relations between the different peoples living in the Volga and Ural regions. It is important that changes in language and education policy at the federal level take the area’s specific situation into account, including regarding the teaching of Bashkir and other languages,” said Abdrakhmanov.

The High Commissioner also visited a specialized multilingual school and the Ufa State University, where he met with teachers and students and discussed issues related to integration.