‘Indicator of news posts share synchronised in two state languages has not been reached’
Rustem Zagidullin — about the integration of the Tatar language into infrastructure
In Tatarstan, the 2023 year has been declared the Year of National Cultures and Traditions. The rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, explained this choice by the importance of preserving and strengthening spiritual values, reviving ancestral national traditions, and continuing the Year of Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia. As part of this, 349 events are planned to be held. They are divided into several sections — education, science, culture, people, holidays and traditions, infrastructure development and so on. Minister of Justice of Tatarstan Rustem Zagidullin spoke about the integration of the Tatar language into the social life of the republic at a meeting of the Council for the Implementation of Legislation on Languages of the Republic of Tatarstan. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
Achievements of 2022
In 2022, 4,932 theatrical and entertainment events were held in the republic, half of which were in the Tatar language. This was announced at the meeting of the Council by Minister of Justice of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustem Zagidullin. He also spoke about other successes of the previous year.
For example, he announced an increase in citizens' appeals to higher authorities in the Tatar language. In 2021, Tatarstan citizens received about 2,6 thousand responses from the executive bodies of state power in the Tatar language, and in 2022 — 11,3 thousand. At the same time, the number of requests in Russian decreased from 86,8 thousand in 2021 to 71,3 thousand in 2022.
“In 2022, the executive bodies of state power considered more than 80 thousand appeals of citizens, to which responses were given in the language of appeals. Local government bodies have considered more than 50 thousand appeals. An increase in the number of appeals in the Tatar language should be noted here. If 3,400 applications were received in 2021, then in 2022 there will be more than 12 thousand appeals in the Tatar language," the minister stressed.
Besides, a 100 percent value of the indicator of the share of road signs issued in two state languages — Tatar and Russian — has been achieved.
“The road signs installed in 2022 are issued in two state languages," Zagidullin explained.
He also noted that in 2022, compared with 2021, the number of certificates of state registration of acts of civil status decreased by 5,7%. At the same time, the certificates, as before, are issued in two state languages.
Shortcomings of 2022
However, the minister also mentioned the shortcomings of 2022, which are still to be worked on. For example, he noted that not all news reports posted on the official websites of the authorities have been translated into Tatar.
“As of January 1, 2023, the executive bodies and self-government bodies have not reached the indicator of the proportion of news reports synchronized in two state languages posted on the official website. According to the data provided, 194 news reports have not been translated by the executive bodies, 67 by the self-government bodies," Zagidullin explained.
The news reports posted on social networks is also not fully realised in Tatar and Russian. At the same time, 6,327 accounts of public authorities have been created since 2022.
“The analysis of social networks of public authorities has shown that news reports are posted only in Russian in most cases. At the same time, today it is social networks that are becoming the main tool for interaction with citizens. In this regard, to ensure the availability of information in social networks, we propose to work out the possibility of adjusting the indicator," the minister summed up.
The shortcomings of 2022 include the absence of inscriptions in two languages on the means of internal visualisation of information of state and municipal institutions. These include cultural centres, schools, libraries, museums, etc.
Zagidullin also reported on the number of appeals to the People's Control in the category “Errors in names and inscriptions” — 7,226 applications on this topic were published in 2022.
“First of all, such applications include errors in the signage of state and municipal institutions," the speaker noted. “The largest number of applications came from Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny and Almetyevsk district. The reason for the appeal of citizens, as a rule, is the absence of the Tatar variant of writing the text, the presence of grammatical and lexical errors.
“Ethnic identity, formation of national identity...”
Another topic of the meeting was the specialised shifts in children's camps — 30 such are planned in 2023. Those that will be held in Tatarstan are aimed at preserving the national culture and values. This was announced at the meeting Deputy Chairman of the Public Chamber of Tatarstan, Chairman of Youth Assembly of the Peoples of Tatarstan regional youth public organisation Timur Kadyrov.
“The purpose of the event is to unite Tatar children aged 10 to 17 years living in the regions of Russia. On the basis of ethnic identity, the formation of national identity, the preservation of the native language, the self-identification of children as the bearer of the centuries-old traditions of the Tatar people," he said.
During the shift, children will study the culture of the Tatar people in a playful way. Besides, classes in the native language are provided in different groups, depending on the ability of students.
“The unity of language, culture, and intelligence is an integral principle of building the activities of specialised camp shifts. Children can not only communicate in their native language, but also see the prospect of using it in interesting areas for themselves," Kadyrov stressed.