Soviet language policy provides rich material for the study of the impact of policy on language use. Moreover, it offers a unique vantage point on the tie between language and culture. While linguists and ethnographers grapple with defining the relationship of language to culture, or of language and culture to identity, the Soviets knew that language is an integral and inalienable part of culture. The former Soviet Union provides an ideal case study for examining these relationships, in that it had one of the most deliberate language policies of any nation state. This is not to say that it...

The former Soviet Union provides one of the most interesting examples of a nation state's deliberate use of language policy to further its political goals. Language Policy in the Soviet Union provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the development of this policy at both national and local levels. It is meant for linguists, policy makers, and specialists on the USSR and Eastern Europe.
The book is organized in such a way that it can be read in its entirety or selectively, with an introduction to the USSR and its ethnolinguistic makeup, followed by a chronology of Soviet...