Putin expresses gratitude to Rahmon for the attention given to the Russian language in Tajikistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his gratitude to the country's leader, Emomali Rahmon, for the attention given to the Russian language in Tajikistan. He stated this during a bilateral meeting held at the Kremlin on November 12.

As a reminder, on November 11, the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states participated in a regular summit in Moscow. After the summit concluded, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon stayed in Moscow for another day to hold bilateral negotiations with the Russian leader.

"Today, as we agreed, we will dedicate our meeting to bilateral relations. These ties, undoubtedly, have a strategic character and are developing very positively in the economic and humanitarian spheres. We are grateful to you for the attention given to the Russian language in Tajikistan, and I always emphasize this," Putin said.

The Russian leader noted that there are many other issues between the two countries that require special attention. He also thanked Rahmon for the opportunity to stay in Moscow and conduct bilateral negotiations.

Putin also recalled that at the CSTO summit on November 11, issues of ensuring security in the organization's area of responsibility were discussed. In his opinion, the negotiations concluded positively and effectively, reaffirming the states' readiness to cooperate in the field of security.

The status of the Russian language in Tajikistan

According to Article 2 of the Constitution of Tajikistan, the state language of the country is Tajik. The Russian language has been granted the status of a language for inter-ethnic communication.

On October 5, 2009, the Law "On the State Language" was adopted. In accordance with it, the use of the Tajik language is established for state bodies and official documentation.

According to official data published in 2022, there were 39 schools in the country where education is conducted in Russian. Nearly 27,000 students were enrolled in them. Additionally, nearly 70,000 children studied in more than 160 mixed schools, where education is provided in both Tajik and Russian.

In 2022, five new schools were also commissioned in cooperation with Russia. They are located in the cities of Dushanbe, Khujand, Bokhtar, Kulob, and Tursunzoda.

Furthermore, the study of the Russian language is included in the curriculum of general education schools in Tajikistan.