Activists from the Azatliq Youth Union organized a "March of Grief" in Kazan today to draw attention to the status of the Tatar language in Tatarstan, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports.
Protesters held posters symbolizing gravestones with the words "Tatar language," "Tatar school," "Tatarstan Constitution," and "Sovereignty" on them.
Organizer Nail Nabiullin told RFE/RL that "Tatars may lose their language very soon, the same way they already lost their sovereignty."
According to a law introduced by the Russian government earlier this year, the "national component" -- which refers to the native language and culture of non-Russians -- was removed from the country's education "standard."
The law went into effect on September 1 and means that the various non-Russian ethnic groups no longer decide whether their language, history, and culture will be taught at public schools.
Protesters held posters symbolizing gravestones with the words "Tatar language," "Tatar school," "Tatarstan Constitution," and "Sovereignty" on them.
Organizer Nail Nabiullin told RFE/RL that "Tatars may lose their language very soon, the same way they already lost their sovereignty."
According to a law introduced by the Russian government earlier this year, the "national component" -- which refers to the native language and culture of non-Russians -- was removed from the country's education "standard."
The law went into effect on September 1 and means that the various non-Russian ethnic groups no longer decide whether their language, history, and culture will be taught at public schools.
