In the Gali region of occupied Abkhazia, by the order of the Ministry of Education of Russia, a Russian language center opened, where pupils, students, and teachers will be taught the Russian language and the mechanisms of its effective teaching.
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“Gali is not a simple region. Locals here are isolated from part of Abkhazia and this is due to the fact that there are problems with the Russian language. Our goal is to reduce these problems if not eliminate them,” stated the head of the center, Igor Basov.
In an interview with the local media, Basov said that it is planned to support students in the future, so they can enroll in Russia’s highest education institutions:
“In the framework of expanding the center activities, we are planning to support the local youth with scholarships, implement projects… this is one of the ways to ensure they stay in Abkhazia, or if not Abkhazia, Russia.
Unfortunately, the higher education of Abkhazia does not cover all specialties, for example, medicine, so in any case young people are faced with a choice whether to enroll in Russia or Georgia. I think it is better if they choose a Russian university.”
The center will start working on September 15, and at this stage, its goal will be to teach the Russian language to about 300 people in three months. Specialists from the Armavir State Pedagogical University of the Krasnodar region will lead the training. On the instruction of the Ministry of Education of Russia, this is the university implementing the project, the purpose of which is to support and develop the center.
Gali translators will help Russian specialists in the teaching of the Russian language.
“The teachers should know the language of the people they communicate with. But unfortunately, my colleagues do not speak Mingrelian. That is why we need someone to serve as an interpreter. We are currently working on this,” stated Basov.
According to local media, the center will implement programs that include the use of modern tools during the preparation of lessons in the Russian language, speech culture, traditions and characteristics of the language, social relations of the Russian people, reading fluently, and the use of the Russian language in international relations, as well as in the field of tourism.
In occupied Abkhazia, Russian is recognized as a state language along with Abkhazian.
The de facto authorities in Gali decided to completely ban teaching in Georgian in the schools in 2021, which Tbilisi assessed as a continuation of the policy of ethnic discrimination and Russification carried out by the Russian occupation regime for many years. According to the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, the goal of banning education in the Georgian language is the eradication of Georgian traces in the occupied territories and the complete assimilation of the population.
