MPs offer to make Russian the official language in Nagorno-Karabakh

A bill on the recognition of the Russian language as an official language along with the Armenian one has been brought into the parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh. The issue of the second official language in the unrecognized republic became especially acute after the 2020 autumn war of, Aram Arutyunyan, an MP, has explained.

The standing commission for sciences, education, culture, youth and sports has brought a new draft law "On the Language" into the parliament; on February 17, it was published in the Armenian language on the official website of the People's Assembly (Parliament) of Nagorno-Karabakh. The bill provides for the introduction of a number of amendments to the Law "On the Language" dated April 25, 2013. They envisage that apart from the Armenian language, the Russian one will have an official status in Nagorno-Karabakh, as follows from the document translated by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Realizing the need for the long-term presence of Russian peacemakers in Artsakh (the self-name of Nagorno-Karabakh), the joint solution of many social problems, cooperation in the spheres of construction, health care, education and science, a reassessment of the role of the Russian language is needed," reads the explanatory note to the bill posted on the website of the National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 18, 2021 at 02:30 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.