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Lost in Translation/ALMATY
Kazakhistan leader bans cabinet from speaking Russian. But many ministers prefer Russian to their native language.
Kazakhstan further loosened cultural ties with its former political masters in Moscow on Tuesday when a ban on speaking Russian in cabinet meetings took effect.
Despite many ministers favoring that language over their native Kazakh.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who wields sweeping powers while paying close attention to public opinion, ordered the switch the previous day.
The only Soviet-era leader still in power, the 77 year-old has run the Central Asian country since 1989. He is fluent in both languages and switches between them in his speeches.
But many Kazakhs, including some senior officials, are not, and prefer Russian, and cabinet meetings have generally been bilingual too.
But in Tuesday's meeting, broadcast live on state television, only one participant in the chamber, Education minister was permitted to speak in Russian.
Exceptions were also made for provincial officials who joined via video link.
After independence, many former Soviet republics rushed through the process of severing links with Moscow, known as de. Russification.
Kazakhstan, which became self-governing in 1991, took things more slowly, in part because ethnic Kazakhs at that time made up less than half of its population.
Four years later, Nazarbayev made Russian the country's second official language. But in census compiled in 2009. only 62 percent of the population said they were fluent in spoken and written Kazakh-
Compared - with 85 percent in Russian
Kazakhistan leader bans cabinet from speaking Russian. But many ministers prefer Russian to their native language.
Kazakhstan further loosened cultural ties with its former political masters in Moscow on Tuesday when a ban on speaking Russian in cabinet meetings took effect.
Despite many ministers favoring that language over their native Kazakh.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who wields sweeping powers while paying close attention to public opinion, ordered the switch the previous day.The only Soviet-era leader still in power, the 77 year-old has run the Central Asian country since 1989. He is fluent in both languages and switches between them in his speeches.
But many Kazakhs, including some senior officials, are not, and prefer Russian, and cabinet meetings have generally been bilingual too.
But in Tuesday's meeting, broadcast live on state television, only one participant in the chamber, Education minister was permitted to speak in Russian.
Exceptions were also made for provincial officials who joined via video link.
After independence, many former Soviet republics rushed through the process of severing links with Moscow, known as de. Russification.
Kazakhstan, which became self-governing in 1991, took things more slowly, in part because ethnic Kazakhs at that time made up less than half of its population.
Four years later, Nazarbayev made Russian the country's second official language. But in census compiled in 2009. only 62 percent of the population said they were fluent in spoken and written Kazakh-
Compared - with 85 percent in Russian
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