Problem with Russian Speakers: How the Soviet Nationality Policies Created and Reinforced Contradicting Views on Linguistic Identities

Abstract

This article discusses how Soviet nationality policies have continued to influence nation-building efforts in post-Soviet states in relation to the region’s sociolinguistic situation and the question of language use. Despite the Soviet Union's dissolution, the region remains shaped by its legacies, particularly by the tension between ethnolinguistic nationalism and multilingual social reality. This tension also manifests in the political narratives of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The article argues that the tension stems from Soviet policies that promoted immutable ethnolinguistic identities as the basis of nation-building while simultaneously fostering freedom of language choices and welcoming linguistic assimilation. This contradiction continues to complicate post-Soviet efforts to reconcile national identity with linguistic diversity. The article provides a historical account of Soviet policies, emphasizing their linguocentric nature and contradictory character. It concludes by discussing the challenges that post-Soviet states face in balancing national language policies with the sociolinguistic realities inherited from the Soviet era.