At the end of last week, Eleonora Mitrofanova, Moscow’s ambassador for special assignments, said that “the Russian language must be given legal status in the countries of the former USSR,” an indication many in these states fear the Russian government will use as a lever or hybrid weapon against those countries.
Their fears on this point are being exacerbated by two thing: On the one hand, they have seen how Moscow used the Russian language issue in the run-up to its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. And on the other, they know that many Western governments have counselled their countries not to do anything that inflames Russian attitudes on this issue.
