The Treaty on Establishing the International Organisation for the Russian Language was signed at a session of the CIS Heads of State Council held on October 13, 2023, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
“The International Organisation for the Russian Language is a tool to support, popularise and spread our language all over the world, the language of international communication, powerful culture and science, the language of great literature that has an undisputable impact on our civilisation. It is no wonder that the CIS member states established the new international organisation since the Russian language is especially valuable for our countries. It is our common language, drawing our people together and strengthening our ties. The newly established international organisation is an institutional mechanism that will ensure international cooperation in supporting the Russian language in all possible forms of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and all types of audiovisual culture,” Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk said in a comment following the summit.
Sochi, the Russian Federation, was chosen to host the organisation’s headquarters.
The organisation will focus on promoting and popularising the Russian language as a unique cultural phenomenon, serving as the base of the common cultural code of the North Eurasian peoples, a tool for thinking, communication and access to world culture and science for hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The organisation will cooperate with educational, cultural and scientific organisations and NGOs of member states, implement humanitarian projects such as production of various information products, and translation of classic and modern authors into Russian and from Russian into the languages of other countries. International conferences, exhibitions and other events will be held under the auspices of the organisation.
The International Organisation for the Russian Language will create a space for cooperation in all humanitarian fields ensuring the preservation of international status for the Russian language and promoting it as a unique, efficient, modern and advanced tool of thinking and communication.
“I would like to express my appreciation to President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the initiative to establish this organisation, and immeasurable gratitude to President of Russia Vladimir Putin and other heads of state who joined the initiative. A special thanks goes to the Russian Foreign Ministry and all our colleagues in the CIS who joined our efforts to bring this initiative to life.
The International Organisation for the Russian Language was designed to be a civilisational project of an international level. I hope this will be so,” Alexei Overchuk said.
The deputy prime minister highlighted the international format of the organisation’s activity. “The organisation was established under the auspices of the CIS, but its activity will cover the whole world, all the places where people speak and/or think in Russian, take an interest in it, love it and want to study it. There are plenty of such countries in the world. The organisation is open to new members and development of international ties,” Alexei Overchuk said.
