Legalization of the Official Language: The Soviet Version

Abstract

The current status of the state language is constitutionally defined by Article 68 and specified in special legislation. However, the established legal framework and the legalized principle of non-discrimination on the basis of language (Article 19) do not fully guarantee the protection of citizens' rights. In addition, against the background of insufficient research, the problem of constitutional and legal approaches to the formalization of the state language is actualized by the entry of new subjects into the Russian Federation and the need to harmonize legislation throughout the multinational country. According to the author, the design and correction of modern legislation requires an appeal to the similar legal experience of the Soviet state, geographically and nationally superior to Russia. In this regard, the results of the analysis of the constitutional and legal norms of the USSR formalizing variations of the category "language", the author's conclusions about the positive and negative sides of such regulation are presented. It is concluded that the constitutional and legislative approach of the Soviet state is adequate for succession in the modern regulation of the legal status of the language, excluding discriminatory manifestations both for the language itself and for the multinational population.