Russification

Russification refers to policies and practices aimed at promoting Russian language and culture within non-Russian areas through state action, migration, and social pressure. It is a historical process rather than a single policy, varying in intensity and methods across time and place.

In the Russian Empire, from the 17th through the 19th centuries, authorities sought to centralize governance and integrate diverse populations by using Russian as the language of administration, education, and the Orthodox church. The settlement of ethnic Russians in border regions, the appointment of Russian-speaking officials, and the promotion of Russian culture and literacy helped blend many territories into a broader imperial framework. Local elites were sometimes co-opted into Russian institutions.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, measures often included mandatory schooling in Russian, official use of the language, and cultural promotion of Russian norms. These policies varied by region and were accompanied by restrictions on other languages in public life, though the degree of coercion differed.

In the Soviet era, the official stance toward nationalities combined support for minority languages with a trend toward Russian as the common lingua franca. Early korenizatsiya promoted local languages in administration and education, but later periods expanded the use of Russian in schooling, government, mass media, and urban migration. Minority cultures persisted, but Russian increasingly served as the dominant medium of interethnic communication.

In the post-Soviet period, Russian maintains prominence in Russia and in several former republics, where language laws and education policies shape debates over minority rights, national identity, and integration. Scholarship and policy debates continue to assess the implications for linguistic diversity and social cohesion.