CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 109

NAREK MKRTCHYAN
Ukrainian or Korean citizens can consider the land in which they live
as their homeland. In fact, the cornerstone of the project is the
establishment of an institute of civic identity. The idea of land is
essential to understand not only the tendencies of making Kazaks first
among equals but also the civic values of identity construction. The
fact that current territory of Kazakhstan historically had been native
land of Kazakhs put the ethnic Kazakhs into a moral obligation to
speak their native language. It is essential to mention that for other
citizens with different ethnicity the idea of homeland should not be
understood as an indicator of “otherness.” Of course, Nazarbayev
administration supports the idea of common homeland based on civic
patriotism. As President Nazarbayev mentioned in the “Strategy
Kazakstan 2050” “the basis of patriotism in Kazakhstan is equal
rights for all citizens based on their share of responsibility for the
honor of our homeland.” Further, he emphasized the importance of
Kazakh usage in supporting the peace and harmony: “Language
should function as a unifying influence for the people of Kazakhstan”
who should be worthy and respect history culture and language of
Kazakhstan 7 .
Kazakh as a state language: Official policy
The process of strengthening of the status of Kazakh language has
started since Soviet times. According to 1989 language law the
Kazakh became state language and was used at all educational levels 8 .
The process continued during first years of independence, and
according to the 1992 Degree on Education Kazakh was confirmed as
the state language, and in 1993 the first Kazakhstani Constitution
defined Kazakh as the state language demoting the status of Russian
as the language of interethnic communication. Although in the formal
rhetoric President Nazarbayev repeatedly expressed his gratitude to
7
Official Site of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Events of
14.12.2012, Address by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of
the Nation, N. Nazarbayev, Strategy “Kazakhstan-2050”: new political course of
the established state. http://www.akorda.kz/en/addresses/addresses_of_president
8
Matuszkiewicz R., “The language issue in Kazakhstan-institutionalizing new
ethnic relations after Independence”, Economic and Environmental Studies,
Vol. 10, no. 2, 2010, p. 215.
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