JPRS ID: 8745 USSR REPORT POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL AFFAIRS
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JPRS L/8745
31 October 1979 ~
IJSSR Re ort
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POLI~TICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL AFFAIRS
- CFOUQ 15/T9~
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JPRS L/8745 .
31 October 1979
- USSR REPORT
POLITICAL AND $OCIOLOGIC~! A,FFAIRS a
(FOUO 15/79)
CONTENTS PAGE
r
INTERNATIONAL ~ , -
Soviet-I:~dian Syr?posium on Religion Held in Tashkent
(V.N. Basilov, S.M. Mirkhasilov; SOVETSi'.AYA
- ETNOGRAFIYA,.No 4, 1979) 1 .
Review of Book on Military Detente in Central Europe
(A.N. Pavlovskaya; OBSHCHESTVENNYYE NAUKI, S~RIYA
1, PROBLEMY NAUCHNOGO KOMMUNIZMA, No 4, 1979) 12
REGIONAL -
Author Lauds Merit of Improved Turkmen Language Teaching
(0. Nazarov; IZVESTIYA AKADEMII NAUK TURKEMNSKOY
SSR SERIYA OBSHCHESTVENNYKH NAiJT~; No 2, 1979) 16
~
�
- a - [III - U5SR - 35 FOUO)
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INTERNATIONAL
~
SOVIET-INDIAN SYI~OSIUM ON RELIGION HELD IN TASHKENT
Moscaa SJVETSKAYA ETNOGRAFIYA No 4, 1979 signed to press 25 Jul 79 pp 1G4-169
[Article by V.N. Basilov and S.M. Mirkhasilov: "Problems of Secularization
in Societies with Many Reli~iona"]
[Text] From 21 to 30 November a Soviet-Indian symposium entitled "Problems
of Secularizatic:: in Soci~ties with Many Religiocas: The Experience of the
USSR and India" was held in Tashkent.
1 The symposium was organized on the Soviet side by the Institute of Ethnogrgphy
of the USS R Academy of Sciences ~ointly with the Institute of Scientific Athe-
ism of the Acadeary of Social Sciences attached to the CPSU Central Committee
and the Uzbek SSR Academq of Sciences aad on ~che Indian side by the Indian
Council for Research in the Field of Social Sciencea. The sympoaium was held
~u~der the general guidance of Vice President of the Uzbek SSR Ac~demy ef Sci-
ences Academician M.K. NurmykhamEdov. The chief work relating to the prepa-
ration of the symposium was assumed by the Inatitute of Iiistory af the Uzbek
SSR Academy of Sciences headed by M.A. Akhunova.
The international symposium,which was devoted to an examination of the pro-
cess of liberation of social life from the influence of religion, was coziduct-
ed in the Soviet Union for the first time. The theme of the aympoaium is not
merely of cognitive interest. In meny countries of the world, religion still
continues to be a significant force, e~oerting en influence on social, cultur-
al and even political life. It interferes with~ the achievement of progres-
sive changes in deve3oping countries because it supports norms and custou,~s
that came into being over the course of many centuries but which are now in
contradictioa to present-day requirements of society. Consequently the task
ro restrict and tcs we~lcen the rele of religion is today an acute one for meny
_ countries, particularly India, where religion has still not lost its fornier
, inf luence on the life of the population.
The Soviet delegation (leader~-V.N. Basilov) numbered 40 peraona.
They in cluded boCh speakers presenting reports (I.A.~Kryve~ev, S.A. Tokarev
A.F.Okulov~ P.K. Kurochkin, V.F. Fiilivido�-, G.M. Kerimov, A.I. Klib$nov,
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L.A. Tul'tseva, E.G. Filimonov~ A.V. Nurullayev, and V.N. Basilov--from Mos-
caa; S.M. M:irkhasilov--irom Tashkent; K.K. Kubakov--Samarkand) and also spe-
cialists who expe�~ted to take part in the discuasions. For the purpoae of
presenting in the course of discussion a detailed elucidation of the state of -
religion in different regions of our country~ additional r~cholara were invited c
to take part in the sympoaium--from Mosco~w (N.R. Guseva, Yu.I, Semenov),
Vil~nyus (Ya.V. Minky avichyus), Ulan-Ude (K.M. Gerasimova, R.Ye. Fub ayev),
Cheboksary (F.V. L~enisov, G.Ye. Ku.dryashov) , Ufa (N.M. Balti~na, M.M. Sagitov) ,
_ Baku (A.F. Akhadov, G.A. Guliyev), nushs=~e (M. Khamidzhanova, 0. Murodov),
Frunze (T.D. Bayaliyev a), Tbili~~ (S.B. Serebryakov), Nal~chik (M.G. Kumakhov),
Syktyvkar (Yu.V. Gagarin). Of the scholars from Uzbekiatan taking part in -
the work of the symposium, there ~rere in addition to the persons presenting
- reports associates f-,~ffi the ~3zbek SSR of the Acad~my of Sciencea R.A.~Ubay-
dullayeva~ Kh. IsmaiZov and O.P. Umurzakova.
~
- A broad range of prob lems was examined in the 14 reports preposed for discus-
sion at the symposium by Soviet scien~iets. The reporta of I.A. Kryvelev
"Religion as a Socialist Ph~no~nenon and S.A. Tokarev "Religirnn and Religions
. from the Hist~rical-Ethnographi;. Point of Vie~w" outlir~ed the basic principles
of the Marxist-Leninist understandin~ of relfgion as a form of social con-
s ciousness . I. A. Kryvelev ct~ t light rn the f ollaaing ques tions : (1) co~
relation of the individual and the sacial content of religious ideology; -
(2)influer.ce of religion on the course of socia?I. development; (3) the church
as a social inatitute based an r~ligious i.deology; (4) the social role of re-
, ligion at the present stage. S.A. ~okarev devoted special attention to the
dual role of religion in the life uf humaa society--as a factor of integra-
tion an~ at the same time of segregatton; the speaker cansLdered ti~e study of _
these functions the chief t~ask:.of a historian of religion.
" A.F. Okulov in a r~port "The USSR Con.stitution and Problen~e of Freedom of
Conscience" examined legal asp~cts of th~ poeition of religion in the USSR
and elucidated the principal position of the Soviet state in regard to reli-
- gion. P.K. Ku~och~Cin devoted his �report "The Constructive Role of the .
Scientific-Materialis~ Atheistic Ph3.losophy in the Process of Formation of
the New Maa" to questtons ai the po~itive content of atheism. _
- The historical prerequisites nf contemporary processes taking place in the
sphere of religious cansGiousness were analyzed in report$ by V.F. Milovidov ~
~ "Or~hodoxy in Tsarist Russia" and V.N. Basilov and G.M: Kerimov "Islam in
Tsarist Russia." The speak~:rs shawed that the role of religion in our time
is Iargely detArmined by tfie speei~l fe~tures of the position of religiaa in
the country in the prerevo3.utionarq period. A.I. Klibanov in the report
"Russian Popular Free Thinkix~g (1~th-19th Centuries)" substantiated the
thesis that the different types of contemporaxy believers reproduce different
~ stages of departure f rom religion traversed by popular thought in the past.
The main part of the reports of the Soviet scholars wae devotied to a charac-
terization of the process of departure of our country's population from reli-
gion in the years of Soviet power. This process was shawn with materials of
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Orthodoxy by L. A. Tu~~ trev ("Orthodoxy in the USSR") and wlth data on Prot-
estant religiaus .trends--E.G. Filimonov ("The Evolutior~ of Protestant Confes- -
sions i:~ the USSR"). The suthors examined the ctyanRes in the views of the -
gol~.awers of different dogmas and the process o~ modernizati.on of beliefs
and rites against the background of broad econiomic, social and cultural -
changes that have created the necessary conditions fo: the erasion of the
religious consciousness and the spread of atheism.
Problems related to contemporary Islam were presented in reporte in particular
detail and fully. In the reports of G.M. Kerimov "Islam in the USSR (1917-
1945) and A.V. Nurullayev "Islam in the USSR (1946-1977~" there were described =
the main stages of the evalu~ion of Mohammedanism in our country and also the
chaages that have taken pl~ce up to the present time in offici.al do~ and ttie
_ cult. S.M. Mirkhasilov in the report "On a Characterization af Elimination
of Religious Traditions in the Mode of Life of the Uzbek Populatian" on the
basis of a big body of ethnographic and ethnosociological material ~ave an
all-round picture�of manifestations of Islam in the consciowsness and behav-
ior of different age groups of believera. V.N. Baeilov and K.K. Kubakov in
~ the report "Vestigea of Pre-Moslem Beliefs in Islam" showed the process of
- dying off of beliefs and rituals originally accepted bq Islam from the l~cal
religions that had been ousted.
The report of Id.P. Do'~acheva "Forming of N~ew Noareligious Rites--One of the
~ Manifestations of 5ecularization of Social Consciousness," in which the pro-
cess of creating new rituals was illumined on the basis of materials of the
peoples of Central Aeia, abutted on th~se problems. The special attention
given to Islam in the reports of the Soviet delegation was due to the fact
that the symposium was being held in Uzbekistaa, in a region of traditio~nal
prevalence of Islam; here the iaformati~n contained in the reports on the
process of the dying off of Islam could be combined by the Indian scholars
with their vwn observations.
The Indian delegation consisted of seven persons: /Sh.Ch. Dube/*--leader
(Jsmmu), M. /Miri/ (Shillong), Pritam Singh (Amritsar), R. /Kumar/ (Allaha-
bad) , ~.T, i.olctiandvalla (Simla) , S. Chaadra (Aligarh) ~ R. /Nayd~u/ (Hyderabad) ,
who presented eight reports. The report b~? /Sh.Ch. 1)abe/ "HarmoT?izing Factors
in Processes of Development and Spread of Hinduism" emph~sized the flexibility
of this religion and its ability to absorb and retain within itself cults
' that are alien in origin. M. /Miri/ in the report "Plurality of Religion, ~
Science and Seculariam" raised a number of general theoretical questiena re-
lated to the manifestation of secularization. Pritam Singh's report "Problems
of Secularization in Multirelig~ous Soaieties: The Experience of Sikhism"
dwelt in detail on the contem~orary position of Sikhism in India. R. /Kumar/
in his repatct "Secularism in Multir~ligious Societies an the Example of India"
Devoted murh attention to social-economic processea lying at the basis of
different movements in the religious sphere. S.T. Lokhandvalla in the report
* Names in slantlines are direct transliterations f rom the Russian.
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"Secularism and Islam" made a substantive survey of the history of Islam,
S. (fiandra in his repor~ "On th:; Question of Secularization; Nationalism in
India in the 19th Century" showed the close tie betzaeen secularization and
the process of formatiQn o� the movement for the country~s independence. In
the report by R. ~Iaydu/ "Disturbance of Secular Situations," there are exanr-
ined forme of deviations from "true aecul.arization," which is diacussed as
abaolute reciprocal cicninterf~rence of the state an~ reiigion. T.N. Madr~n
(llelhi)~ who was unable [o be present at the symposium, sent a report "Commenta
on the Historical Significance of Secularism in India," deali.ng with the pre-
requisites and early stages of the contemporary process of secularization in
' the country. _
In the course of the discussion of the reports, an inCeresting and sharp
argument developed, disc'losing the different points of view of the Soviet -
and Indian scholars on a number of happenings and a different approach to
the study of religions. The arguments primarily concerned theoretical prob-
- . lems and a question closely related to them on conceptual apparatus and
terminology.
Thus, the Indian delegates did not consider as exhaustive the definition of -
religion widely accepted among Soviet scholars accordinR to which a basic
- ch aracteristic separating religion from other ideologicai manifestations is
that of faith in the supernatural (such an understanciing of religion was _
proposed in particular in I.A. Kryvelev's repnrt). S. Chandra found this =
definition too narrow: in his opinion, it is possible to have the existence
of "secular" religions. Under this term he included ideology accepted on
faith and possessing the propexties of dogma. "In this sense, even atheism
can be called a religion if it is transformed into do~ma of orthodox ch arac-
ter," he said. /Sh.Ch. Dube/ supported S. Chandra. Religion in his words
provides a system of beliefs which explains the attitude of man to different
components of the world, helps establish the purpose of actions of the indi-
vidual and society and sets definite limits to f reedom of actirnl for an
individual. A system with the same functions, but without f aith and a god,
becomes a "secular" religion.
- R. /Kumar~ expressed doubt that Buddhism corresponda to the definition of
religion as belief in the supernatural. He declared re~eatedly tha~ the
_ definition of religion proposed by the Soviet side fails to take into account
the specific ch aracter of Hinduism. R. /Kumar/ himself, like the other Indian
delegates~ did not consider it possible for himself to give another d~fini-
tion, but he emphasized that the understanding of the terns "religion" adopted ~
by the Soviet scholars applied to Judaism, Chri.stianity and Islam. In the
oninion of ./Sh. Ch. Dube/ "belief in the sugernatural was unessential" to
Hinduism: a whole series of religious sects advanced the doctrine of materi-
alism but still "were not considered as standing outaide the bounds of Hindu
civilization." Subsequently he said that"dharma" (a very close equivalent to
- the concept of "religion" in the terminology of Hinduism) "unites also in it-
self phenomena of a worldly order--economics, bodily pleasures and art."
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The Indian s.;holars also did not agree to S.A. Tokarev's classificat~on of
Hinduism under national rather than world religions. Among the Soviet par~
ticipants S.A. Tokarev's opinion was supported by Yu.I. Semenov; N.R. Quseva
expressed the thought that bases did e~dst for conaidering Hinduistn as a
- world religion.
The Indian scholars interpreted differently f rflm the Soviet specialists the
social nature of religion. This came to light in a discussion of S.A. Toka-
_ rev's report in which the author advanced the position that religian "is not
so much the relation of man to God (or to goda) as the relation of people to
each othe~-in regard to ideas about God (or about gods):' R. /Kumar/ said
that according to his understanding S.A. Tokarev touched upon two aspects of
religion: as the inner world of the individual and his relation to God (or
. to gods) and as social phenomenAn ("sociology of religion"). S. Chandra as- `
_ serted that S.A. Tokarev "underestimates religion as a phenomenon of a pe~
s onal character and overestimates it as a social reality." Thus while stand-
; ing on one position, S. Chandra and k. /Kumar/ consider relation to God as
- a phenomenon of individual psychologq, nor agreeing with the Marzist-Leninist
understanding of religion as a secial phenomenon in which the apecial features
of an iadividual attitude taward God are socially mediate~3.
M. /Miri/ agreed with the formulation "religion is a social phenomenon,"
_ albeit on the basis of different understanding. In his opinion, phenomena
called in I.A. Kryvelev's report religious should be interpreted with account
being taken of languge factors. "I.~nguage determines the limits of human
kr.awledge and the limits of its conceptual systems and theref ore si~nificantlq
determines and limits man." Once language is considered ae a social phenome-
non~so is the nature of religion in his opinion. "I am not convinced," -
M. /Miri/ said subsequently, "that a scientifically valid theoty of the origin
of religion is possfb le. It seems to me that so-called evolutionary anthro-
pology, from which Professor Kryvelev borraws certain positions, permits an
error of principle in assuming that a well-reasoned theory of the origin of
religion is possib le. Such a theory, M. /Miri/ b~lievea "would be unab le to
- explain in sufficient detail the specificity of religious symbols."
M. /Miri/ also said in regard to I.~,. Kryvelev~s poeition that "religion on the
whole orients people not in the direction of improvement of social customs in
the interest of workers and the exploited ma~ority... but to the conservation
of the existing eituation in the hope of changing it for the better as the
result of the intervention of forces from the beyond." The problem does not
lie in religion itself, M. /Miri/ asserted,but in the manner it is used. Zfie
fact that political leaders, while professing religious piety, frequently
commit acts that are criminal from the point of view of human morality does
not ~ aracterize religion but the pressure that contemporary civilization
exerts upon it. This observation, in his opinion, is entirely applicable
to relations between religion and politics. R./Naudu/ did not agree with
M.I~tiri/ on this point. Many examples are knawn where religious dogmas have
_ guided politicians," she said.
The positions of the Indian and Soviet scholars also differed in an evalua-
tian of the historical role of religion and atheism. While the Soviet
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delegates unconditionally acknawledged tt~ process of liber.ation of society
fro~a religion to be progreasive, the Indian p~rticipants enunciated other
vieF~s. For example, religion was described in the report bq R. /Naydu/ as
an itmnanent property of consciousnesa: "For the human condition religious-
ness is a kind of functional imperative." Defining the nature of the reli-
gious experience as a"feeling of absolute dependence," she emphasized: "The
feeling of absolut~. depen~dence is not simply a psychic reaction of the indi-
vidual in regard to the Absolute, it is rooted in thE: ixperimental taatrix of
relative dependences and ir~plied relations..." In h~ar tallc she recognized
religion as being useful and helpful to� man's orientation in the world.
'Itiis point of view was also supported 'oy /Sh. Ch. Dube/, who said that "the
constructive, positive role of rel.igion in society should not be underesti-
mated." He perceived this positive role in the affirmation of the moral
norms of religion. In his opinion, under the contenq~orary achievements of
science and technology "society may arrive at practical atheism," but "athe-
iem can have very negative aspects if saciety does not possess what you call
socialist morality." For this re~son di~semination of atheism is feasible
only in the case where material conditions are provided for the functioning
of the principles of the new morality. Pritatt~ ~ingh, on commentin~ on ~'.K.
Kurorhkin's report, stated that "spiritual, moral and emotional qualitiPs
which, in the words of the speaker, are characteristic of atheiem, are alnost
the same as those affirmed by many religians." Religion has been tested over
the course of thousands of years, and iCS properties are known. "But atheiam
as a state cult has yet to pass the test of time. Thus~ Prftam Singh shc~wed
a lack of understanding of the nature of a~heism, which is an inseparable
part of the materiali~t viewpoint.
In the course of the discussion, a different understandin~ of the term "sec- ~
ularization" by the Soviet and Indian scholars came to light. ThP Soviet
scolars defined secularization as the process of liberation of social life
from the influence of religion, acting on a g~eneral law of development of con-
temporary i?umanity as a whole. Such a definition in particular was given in
the introductory remarks of Vice President of the Uzbek SSR Academy of Sci-
ences Academician M.K. Nurmukhamedov at the opening of the symposium.l In
the Indian scholars~ reports and statements, the terms "secularization" and
"secularism" tiad a different meaning. Thus, in the opinion of R. Naydu,
"~ecular philosophy neither denies the relevancy of reli~ious prescriptions
(based on invisible deities and the afterlife) for human behavior nor ac-
knowledges it. Clearly, this is because there is no logical opposition be-
tween religion and secularism--rather t'~ey are based on mutually exclusive
philosophical systems"; she repeated this thesis of her report in the course
of discussion. "I mean by secularization the separation of reli~ion and
state," she explained. R. /Kumar/ defined the term secularization as the
liberation of the s tate from religion, the destruction of any connection be-
tween religion and politics with a constitutional t;uarantee of religious
freedom. The same views were voiced by M. /Miri/ and S.T. Lokhandvalla. _
. 1. For the text of the introductory remarks of M.K. Nurmukhamedov see:
OBSHCEiESTVENNYYE NAUKI V UZBEKISTANE~ No 2, 1979, pp 29-32.
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Sucli a narrow and, to a certain degree, f ormal comprehension of the phenomenon
of secularization reduced to a complete reciprocal independence or state and
= relipion hindered individual Indian participants of the symposium f rom seeinR
the inner impelling f actors to the weakening of the influence of reli~ion.
For exampl~, in the report by R./Naydu/, the departure of the population �rom
Moslem prescriptions of fast observance was explained solely by the incompat-
ibility of this custom with work discipline under conditions of modern pro-
= ductian~ which in her opinion involves the desire af the state to forbid the
f ast. Ch anges in the viewpoints of believers due to the chan ging conditiona
of life were not taken into account by R. /Naydu/.
In their talks, the Soviet scholars explained the baeic positions of Marxist
control of religion and acquainted their Indian colleagues with facts that
cast light on the present state of religious organizations in the USSR and on
the departure of the country's population from relip.,ion.
Taking part in the discussion, I.A. Kryvelev substantiated the point of view
that a govercxing characteristic of religion was belief in the reality of the
supernatural. This ch aracteristic, he said, is possessed both by Hinduism
and Buddhism; in p articular, ever early Buddhism shared the belief in auper-
natural forces. I.A. Kryvelev cxitfcized the position of M. /Miri/, ahowing
that a scientificaily substantic~ted theory of the origin of religion is beinR
succesafully developed by religious historians.
Yu.I, Semenov remarked that the reports of the Indian delegates on ly confirm
the definition of religion adopted by th~ Sovie*_ scholars. R. /Naydu/, for
example, eaw the essence of rel~gion as existing in the feelin~ of absolute
dependence, but thia is a dependence on supernatural forces.
The report of /Sh.Ch. Dube/~ Yu.I. Semenov said, also acknowledges that Hin- _
duism is also characterized by belief in the supernatural and ritual inter- -
course with supernatural beings; furthermore, punishment is expected from the
gods and goddesses for violation of the prescriptions of Hinduism. It is
something else again that religion is not reatricted to belief in the auper-
natural; there exists, in particular, religious morality (as part of a system
of rules of behavior prescribed by this or that religion) . Morality, however,
has earthly roote, religion only illumines, sanctions it.
S.A. Tokarev showed the methodological inconsistency of the poaition of a
number of Indian s cholars, according to which the personal attitude taward
- supernatural forces is separated from the social cantent mf religion. The
- social role of religion is displayed in its integrating and segregating func-
tions, which were examined in his report.
- In their talks, the Soviet delegates also substantiated the legit3.macy of the
use of the term "secularization" in the sense used in Soviet science. Acade-
n~ician M.K. Nurmukhamedov emphasized that the tendency taward the freein~� of
social life f rom the inf luence of religion, which secured a solid social
basis during the period of formation of b ourgeois attitudes, hae been trans-
fot~ned in the contemporary epoch into a mighty process obtaining broad scope
in meny countries.
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V.F. Mi~ovidov said th.~t secularization in our country is taken to mean
nat only compleCe liberation rrom the influence of reliRion of all spheres of -
social and personal llfe but also the assertion in our saciety of the
scientific-materxalist viewp~in t and of communiat ideals. Yu.I. Semenov
directe d attention to the f act that the procese of secularization possesses
different forms in differer.~ countries and grows through differenC staRes. -
Ttie difference between the Soviet and Indian definitions of secularization
is reflected in the specific +character of the process in India and in the .
_ USSR. The Indian collengues underscored the importance of separation of
state f rom religion as a guarantee of equality of all citizens regardless of
their religious affiliation. It is clear that for India this is a pertinent
processs but in the USSR religion has long been separated from the state and
a process is proceeding of the complete liberation of the individual from -
religion due co the fact tha~ socialism is undermining the roots of religion.
At the present time, the great ma~ority of the population in the USSR con-
sists of atheists. G.M. Kerimov, spealcing on S:T. Lokhandvalla's report, ex-
pressed disagreement with the opinion of t.he author of the report that occa-
sional signs of the process of secularization were observed even in the firat
centuries of the existence of the Arabian caliphate. A.F. Akhadov agreed
with the thought stated in S.T. Lokhandvalla~s report to the effect that the
process of secularization is a many-sided phenomenon relating to all spherea
of social life. He described the form of departure f rom religion by the
, adherents of Shia in Azerbai~an.
The remarks of the Soviet participants also caet light on different aspects -
of the present position of religion in the USSR. The need for explainin g
- many f acts atemmed f rom the questions and comments of the Indian deleqates
th at attestsd to the fact that some of their ideas on the life of peoples in
the USSR were based on unconsc3s~nable information of foreign "sovietolo~-
ists. A.F. Okulov described the opportunities possesaed by religious organ-
izations in our country for the functioning of a cult. Like the other Soviet
delegates, he emphasizzd that a researcher should not depend on the concoc-
tions of 'sovietologists," if he has a desire to make an adequate atudy of
Soyiet life. A.V. Nurullayev dwelt on the questions of guarantees of freedom
oi conscience ~ncorporated in the new USSR Constitution and also explained
the meaning of the new pasition of the Constitution-- a prohibition to foment
enmtty and hatred in cannection with re:ligioue beliefs. He analyzed the
reasons for the transition of the contemporary Moslem clergy in the USSR
f rom poaitions of condemnation of socialiam to the adoption of its ideals.
The report by R. /Naydu/ evoked sharp criticism from the Soviet participants
as it contained a number of positions expressing a lack of understanding of
the nature of processes occurring in our country. M. Khamidzhanova pointed _
out the fallacy of the assertion by R. %Naydu/ that in the USSR observance
of fasting by Moslems is considered to be sabotage and described the truQ
s tate of affairs. She came out decisively against a statement by R. /Naydu/
th at a process of rusaification is taking place in the national repub lics.
M. Khamidzhanova directed the attention of the Indian participanta to thE
facts attesting to the graath of the national cultures and languagea of the
people's of the Soviet Union. Ya.V. Minkyavichyus also convincingly showed in ~
. 8
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his comments that it is radically wrong to speak of russification of non- -
Russian peoples in the USSR; the proceas of ineatering the Russian language
by representatives of other peoples is progressive, as its contributes to
the acquisition of world cultural values by the non-Russian nationalitiea.
In connection with this question, he also examined the role of the EnRlish _
language in India.
R. /Naydu/ admitted that her ideas on the life of Moslems in the USSR were
based primarily on American literature. She explained th at the term "russi-
fication" used in the report as an analo~ to another term employed by her-- -
't?induization" by which is meant the spread in India of culture connected
with Hinduism and the Hindi language. Yu.I. Semenov ob~ected that in this
sense employment of the term "~ussificatiorI' is inadmissible as the analog for
"hinduization" would be "orthodoxization," and such an analog in the context
of the report would be inappropriate as orthodoxy in our country is not bein~ -
disseminated but, on the contrary, is undergoing a decline and the number of
i~s follawers is being reduced. -
- In their remarks the Soviet delegates presented additional information on the
sub~ect matter of the reports. Thus V.N. Basilov, G.M. Kerimov, S.M. Mirkha-
silov, L.A. Tul~tseva and E.G. Fi~imonov in replies to the queati~n of the
Indian scholars quoted various facts characterizing the evoluti~onary stages
of dif~Eerent faiths past and in the present. N.P. Lobacheva illumined the
goals of tlie mass movement for creation of a new nonreligious ritual. More- _
over, she dwelt on the question of criteria that made i t possib le to corsider
a new rite as corresponding to the contemporary needs of society.
~ In the ~course af the discussion, ma~or intereat was sho~wn by the particips.nts
in the romments of colleagues of the Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences. R.A. Ubay-
duliayeva came out with commentaries on S.M. Mirkhasilov's report, havinR f or
its task disclosure of the social-economic causes of the process of departure
of women from religion. Involvement of women in public socialist production, _
she said, constituted an inseparable part of the work of the Soviet aCate and
- society in ov~rcoudng the general backwardness of Central Aaia. Economic
emancipation of women has been combined with granting to them of equal op-
portuniti,es with men in obtaining an education and vocational training, in
promotion at work and in social-political a~d cultural activities.
Kh. Ismailov presented facts supplementing materials contained in V.N. Basi-
- lov's and K.K. Kubakov's report on the dying out of vestiges of pre-Moslem
beliefs in Islam. He described in this connection the unique corporation
of the Calendar derviehes, which no longer exists.
O.P. Umurzakova developed a number of theses formulated in N.P.� Lobacheva's
report, emphasizing thaC new customs and traditions come iato existence on
the b asis of creatively reworked traditional elements of culture possesaing
a national coloring and new Soviet features of the socialist way of life
reflecting international developmental tendencies. She cited certain new
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data characterfzing both present-day ritusls of the inhabitants of Uzbekistan
and reCainin~ positive traditions from the past--respect for labor, for parenta _
and eld~rs and mutual aid.
Interesting factual material waa to be found in the remarks of the Indian
scholars fn supplementing th.eir reporta. /Sh.Ch. Dube/ examined in particular -
features o� the process of secularization in India. Secularism, he said,
quite easily found a place in the system of Hinduis~n, coexisting with tradi-
tionsl manifestationa of religion, inasmuch as in Hinduism "the chief atten-
tion has always been paid to conscious cultivation of different modes of life
_ and behavior," In India organizations exist which have for their aim the
preservation of Hinduism, but they allaw a cerCain modernization of it.
/Sh.(~. Dube/ also noted that in the last twenty years a number of new cults
have come into existence in India. For example, there appeared the sect of -
- "G,od-Men," which has managed to become popular in the country (for example ~ -
Said Baba, who ailegedly has the ability to create watches and French per-
fumes "out of nothing") . "Not one of you would be able to say," /Sh. Ch. Dube/
said, "that you have been a teacher of God. But for several months I was the
reacher of a person who subsequently was shawn to be God." /Sh.Ch. Dube/ had _
in mind one o� Che "God-Men" who has been ackncxaledged in many -
capitalist countries of the world.
R. /Kumar/ voiced the conviction that in certain respects secularization does
- not present such a serious problem for India as for countries where Christian-
ity or Islam are prevalent. As a conaequence of its amorphous character..
Hinduism "is able to find a way for a more stable ccexistence with a s4c3ety
in which social and economic democracy aesumes the ascendancy."
Pritam Singh dwelt ~n the sgecific character of mod~rnization of Sikhism in ~
India. In Sikhism, lie pointed out, much attention is attached to the external
signs of adherence to a religion. A man with a shaved beard is considered by
Sikhs to be a renegade who has gone over to Hinduism. And although some
persons without beards in a number of cases more zealously observe the pre-
cepts of Sikhism then persons who continue to wear a beard, pu~lic opinion
does not consider them to be Sikhs. Nonetheless, like other religions, Sikh-
ism has been sub~ected to modernization, but this inr~inges on other spheres.
M. /Miri/ spoke of Christianization of the population in the northeaste~n
part of India and noted that this proceas was accompanied by material incen-
tives for new converts. The Christian clergy urged the population to renounce
~heir former religious traditions, whict?, in M. /Miri/'s opinion, led to the
spiritual impoverishment of the people.
The symposium held in Tashkent is of major importance for the development of
scientific ties between the USSR ~nd India as it contributed to better mutual
understanding of both parties. This was pointed out in his concluding remarks
~ by the delegations' leaders. /Si1.Ch. Dube/ said that aome of the Indian dele-
- gaCes obtained their first acqusintance through tt~e symposium with the ideas
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and occuxrences characteristic of an entirely different way of life for them.
The talks of the Soviet par~icipants~ he added, illumined for the Indian
scholars "many fields, which up to then had been convered with darkness, con-
tributing to a tremendous degree to our underatending of present-day Soviet
society."
Vice Preaident of the Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciencec~ M.K. Nurmukhamedov, in
closing the symposium, emphasized that mutual elucidation of acientific views
and principles was a useful thing, helpiag to strengthen friendly contacts
between ~ao large countries of the Eurasian cantinent--the USSR and India.
The sympoeium, he said, serves as a convincing arRument directed against the
dissemination in India of a thesis of bourgeois propaganda to the effect that
the position of religion in the Soviet Union is allegedly enshrouded as a
� secret because in tha field of religious belief ~the rights of an individual
, are allegedly interfered with. In the reports and talks of the SoFviet
scholars the groundlessness of such assertions was proved, and the conclusion
was substantiated by a large body of f actual material that the departure of
the population of our country from religion is an ob~ective prucess reault-
ing from the tremendous changes that have taken place in the life of the
neoples of the USSR during the years of the Soviet power and have been caused
by radical changes in people~s world view.
_ The success of the symposium was to a large degree abetted by a saturated
program of various measures for the participants of the sympoaium. In Tash-
kent they were acqusinted with the sights of the city; they visited museums
and theaters and went to Tashkent State University and a school where Hindi
is taught and also the ,Theological Administration of Moslems of Central Asia
and Kazakhstan. On completion of the eymposium's work program, the particip-
ants vieited Bukhara and Samarkand, follawing which the Indian delegation -
went to Moaca~r. The Indian scholars complet~d their trip at Zagorsk where
_ they looked over the museum and also a theological seminary and academy, where
they held tallcs with the leadersliip of these~ institutions.
The work of the symposium received publicity through mass information media
(presa, radio, television).
The reports discussed at the symposium are to be published in the USS R and
India.
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo "Nauka", "Sovetskaya etnografiya", 1979
r,-
769 7
CJQi lOV~
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' INTERNATIONAL
~
REVIEW OF BOOK ON MILITARY DETENTE IN CENTRAL EUROPE
M~oscow OBSHCHESTVENNYYE NAUKI, SERIYA 1, PROBLEMY NAUCHNOGO KOMMUNIZMA in
Russian No 4, 1979 pp 55-58
[A. N. Pavlovskaya review of work on military detente*]
- [TextJ The book consists of an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion.
In Chapter 1--"The Struggle of the Socialiat Countries for Military Detente
in Central Europe in the Postwar Period (1946-1970)"--the author shows the
positive changes in the structure of international relations in connection
with the formation of the world socialist system.
He notes the Soviet Union's historical priority in the initiative concern-
ing a reduction in armed forces and a.rmaments in postwar Europe. T~he 5oviet
Union's struggle for a peaceful settlement of the German problem was also a
part of the question of a general reduction in armed forcea. A concrete ex-
pression of Soviet foreign policy in Central Europe was the reduction of the
USSR Armed Forces by 1.2 million men in 1956 and by 1.2 million men in 1960.
The consultations in Vienna from 31 January through 28 June 1973 with the
participatic,n of the dele~tions of 19 states (the chapter entitled "On
the Eve of the Vienna Talks") focused sharply on the question of the status
of the participants. States whoae troops, located in Central Europe, were
an immediate object of a reduction (Belgium, Great Britain, the GDR, Canada,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the USSR, the United States, the FRG
and Czechoslovakia) were treated as direct participants. The area of the
reduction, which included the territory of Belgium, the GDR, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Poland, the FRG and Czechoslovakia (p 46), was also spe-
cified. Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Ital}r, Norway, Romania and
"Turkey, which were represented in Vienna, but which were not participants
in the reduction, obtained special status: they could participate in the
discussion of the questions, but not in the formulation of the decisions.
*79.04.012. V. Basmanov, Za voyennuyu razryadku v tsentral'noy yevrope"
[For Military Detente in Central Europe], Moscow, Mezhdunarodnyye otnosheniya,
1978, pp 136. .
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- The ob~ect of the talka--"a mutual reduction in armed forces and armaments
and measures connected therewith in Central Europe"--was also defined at -
these consultatioas.
The sides came to an understanding on the "equivalence of commitments" and ~
the nedd For the observance by all its participants of the "principle of
- reciprocity." The "principle of balance," which signified in the NATO
countries' interpretation, "asymmetrical reductions to its own advantage_" :
was excluded from the definition of the object of the talks. Howe~er, the
Western countries' intentions of obtaining one-sided advantages for them-
- selves reemerged subsequently in the course of the negotiations.
The Western countries advocated that the withdrawal of armed forces from
the area of the reduction should not be detrimental to the se~curity of the
direct-participant countries and the special-status countries. The social-
ist countries believed that a solution of the question should strengthen
stability and security on the continent as a whole, being detrimental to
the security of no European state.
The socialist states' draft agreement and the Western outline of reductions
are compared in Chapter 3--"At the Negotiating Table." The draft of agree- -
ments of the socialist countries carefully drew up the time and the exeent
of the reductions. It provided for a 15-percent reduction over 3 years in
Central Europe of both foreign and nationalarmed forces, that is, ground -
forces and air forces together with their armaments and combat materiel,
including nuclear weapons. The NATO countries agreed only to the cutback
in the number of ground forces, rej ecting a reduction in air force person-
nel and also in armaments and co~bat materiel.
In October 1974 the socialist states proposed an initial reduction of the
armed forces of 20,000 men from each side. In March 1975 the socialist states
put forward a proposal, which was in the nature of a compromise, in accord-
ance with which the Soviet Union and the United States would make reduction
and only after this.would the other direct part3.cipants in the negotiations
follow suit.
The Western proposal of 16 Deeember 1975 on a reduction of part of the
American nuclear facilities recognized the need for a reduction in nuclear
facilities, but was of a one-time-only nature and did not signify agreement
in principle to a reduction in air forces, armaments and combat materiel.
The next initiative on the part of the socialist countries was the proposal
of 19 February 1976 for a reduction in two stages--first in the armed for-
ces of the USSR and the United States and then (in 1977-1978) of the other
states.
Chapter 4--"Problems of the Vienna Negotiations"--examines the interconnec-
tion of the correlation of forces in the area of the reduction with the all-
European and world situations.
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The correlation of forces in Central Eur~pe makes it possible to determine
the extent of the reduction and its results. But it is difficult to achieve
mutuai understanding on this question insofar as the balance of forces even
~ in a single limited area is composed of many factors which are diffi~ult to
- compute. Certain disparities and difierencea in the structure of lndivic~ual
services of the armed forces and areiaments of the statea have evolved aince
. the war. But, on the whole, the existing correlation of the forces of both
- sides, including those in the given area, are characterized by balance. For
this reason the Soviet Union ~nsists that the result of the negotiations
must not he a change in the present correla*.,ion of forces in the area of the
reductions. _
The geographical fact of the remoteness from Central Europe of the United
States and the proximity thereto of the Soviet Union is interpreted by re-
presentativES of the NATO countries as an advantage to the SoviEt Union. -
The author emphasizes that it is only the military-strategic aspect of this
problem and not the purely geographical aspect which is of significance for
the Vienna negotiations.
Ther.e follows an analysis of factors of a sub~ective nature applying the
brakes to the progress of the talks in Vienna: the activity of the most
militant forces of imperialism, military and military-industrial circles and
anti-Soviet politicians. The author discloses the mechanism of the fabrica-
_ tion of data on the alleged overwhelming military superiority of the Warsaw ~
Pact countries over the NATO countries (false methods of estimating the
numerical strength of the forces of the socialist countries which proceed from
~ the establishment schedule, which, as is known, is not up to full strength
in peacetime in any state, and also various manipulations concerning the
areas of the estimation). The West's policy of manifest exaggeratian of
the socialist countries' defense efforts serves this same purpose.
i A principal obstacle on the path of the negotiations is the arms race being
pursued by the NATO countries. "The arms race policy has its own develop-
ment logic. It inevitably leads to a galvanization in these countries of
the forces opposed to detente" (p 98).
The question of the "object of the reduction" occupied a particular place
, at the negotiations. As a result of many years of negotiations the conclu-
sion was drawn that the path toward the achievement of effective militarg
detente in Central Europe evidently lies in all components of the armed for-
ces (with consideration of the agreed exception of naval forces), including
nuclear weapons, being subject to reduction. The object of a reduction also
- includes armaments and combat maCeriel, although the Western states~as-
serted at the negotiations that military strength is determined ma..inly by
the numerical strength of the personnel of the armed forces, primarily the
ground forces. The author emphasizes tha~ calculating combat effectiveness
by the number of bayonets is today a profound anachronism. Insofar as the
process of modernization of the armies in different countries is at dif-
ferent levels, man as the criterion of combat effectiveness is of varying
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meaningfulness. There should be a reduction in the troops with their arma-- _
mer~ts from both sides on an equal basis. Otherwise the process of reduction _
could become a formality or its opposite even, stimulating an improvement
in military equipment and an increase in the Croops' combat strength and,
consequently, not a lessening but a growth of tension.
_ The question arose in the course of the negotiatione af which forces should
be treated as ground forces and which as air forces, this having been cause3
by the differences which had evolved in the organizational structure of the
states' armed forces. The socialist countries proposed proceeding from the
"functional criterion," in accordance with which identical or uniform
forces should be treated as belonging to one and the same service of the -
armed forces. The NATO states put forward another principle--the "criterion
of uniform." But it does not permit a precise definition of services of the
armed forces insofar as analogous forces in different countries wear various
uniforms. Difficulties of categorizing troops are also connected with dif-
ferences in the systems of bringing to prescribed strength, reinforcing and
classifying the personnel. Thus the practice exists in the NATO countries
of calling into the army civilian personnel whose dutles are analogous to
the functions of servicemen in the Warsaw Pact armies. For this reason the
employ~ent of the criterion of uniform led to a reduction in the numerical
atrength of the Western states' armed forces.
The question of the method of the reductions also occupies an important place.
The author reveals the advantages of the "equal-percentage method" of troop
reduction by all states over the "asymmetrical" troop reduction which is
being propagandized by the Western delegates and which benefits NATO.
Measures of effective supervision of observance of the agreements do not
of themselves give rise to doubts, but their specific nature and connection
with ~he main aims of the negotiations are important. Thus the so-called
"measures to strengthen stability and trust proposed by the NATO countries
as an obligatory condition of a reduction of forces are essentially the
latest attempt to obtain one-sided advantages for NATO.
In conclusion the book observes that the Vienna negotiations, which have
now been underway for 5 ye~rs, have not yet brought closer a eolution of -
- the problem of a reduction of armed forces in Central Europe, which repre-
sents the pivAt of military detente on the European continent. It is es-
sential that its solution be approached with an understanding of the historic
significance of the positive processes occurring in the world and not with
obsolete yardsticks which fail to correspond to the present state of inter-.
~ national relations.
COPYRIGHT: INION AN SSSR
8850
CSO: 1800
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REGIONAL
AUTHOR LAUDS MERIT OF IMPROVED TURI~N LANG~JAGE TEACHING
Ashkhabad IZ'VESTIYA AKADIIrIII NAUK TURKENINSKOY SSR SERIYA OBSHCHESTVENNYKH
NAUK in Russian No 2, 1979 signed to press 23 Apr 79 pp 52-57
[Article by 0. Nazarov: "The Functional Interaction of Turkmen and Russian
at the Current Stage"]
[Text] In recent years socioii.nguistiGS has become a leading area of Soviet
iinguisfiics. Fundamental studies devoted to an elaboration of the theorett-
cal prin~fples of sociolinguistics and a determination of the range of prob-
lems with which this science..must deal have appeared as the result of the
scientific interpretation of experienca accumulated in the course of linguis-
tic building in our country. Linguistic practice in a multinational state,
, where~the language of inter-nation communication interacts intensively with
the national languages, provides a wealth of material for a comprehensive
study of the questions of the mutual relations of language and society. An _
important place is occupied in the range of sociolinguistic problema by a
study of the social functions performed in this region or the other by each
of the interacting languages.
- The queation of ~functional interaction of Russian and.the n,ational lan-
guages cannot be successfully studied in isolation from national-Rusaian
bilingualism, which can be observed throughout the territory of the Soviet
Union to a grea.ter or lesser extent. Within the confines of our republic
the most widespread type of bilingualism is Turkmen-Russian bilingualiam
(1, pp 42-48; 6, pp 185-191), which makes a certain imprint on the distribu-
tion of the social load between the literary languages functioning~in Turk-
menia at the present time.
The functional interaction of Turkmen and Russian occurs in all spheres of
their application (2, pp 354-370). This is entirely natural for the very
practice of the parallel use of two (or several) languages in a certain
region is a result of the fact that each language individually is incapable
of coping with all the funct3ons of communications in this collective. In
other words, under the conditions of bilingualism the intaracting languages
are differentiated according to the spheres of service or society, and in
this plane they complement one another.
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An integral idea of the functional interaction nf Turkmen and Russian at the _
current stage is given by an examination of their application in the system
of public educat3on (8, pp 64-69). Whereas prior to the revolution Turlanen
wae virtually unused in thie function and thE ephere of the application of
Ruesian was esaentially confined to its uae in the role of the language of
tuition in small high achools, preparatory schools, epecialist achools and _
regular schools, as a result of the implementation of Lenin's national policy -
schools began to open as early as 1918 with instruction in Turkmen, and there
was a simultaneous expansion of the network of Russian schools and also
~ schools where instruction was in the native tongue of other nationalities
living in Turlanenia--Uzbeks and Kazakhs. Some 1,171 Turkmen, 1,01 Russian,
70 Uzbek, 3~ Kazakh and 100 mixed schools were functioning in the republic
in the 1976-1977 academic year.* In the national schools Russian is taught _
as particular subject from the second semester of the first grade through -
the lOth, and Turkmen, in turn, is included in the programs of the repub-
lic's Russian sc.hools.
In the VTJZ's and secondary specialized academic institutions the funct3.on of
ianguage of instruction is distributed between the interacting languages
somewhat distinctively. The humanities are usually taught in the Turkmen
lecture hall in the students' native tongue, but natural-technical subjects
are taught in Turl~en and Russian, with a considerable ~reponderance of Rus-
s3an. This circumstance is connected with the shortage of virtual absence
in a number of natural-technical specialties of the necessary textbooks in
the students' native language and the poor development of the corresponding
scientific terminology in Turlanen. -
As can be seen, the question of the distribution of functions between the
in~eracting languages in the system of public education is closely inter-
waven with the publication of instructional literature in the corresponding
languages. The general educational schools which have Turkmen as the lan~
guage of instruction have now been fully supplied with study programs and
original textbooks and those translated into the students' native language
in all subjects in the high schools' curricula. An average of 87 textbooks
for the~republic's Turlanen schools in mass editions are currently issued
annually. Thus textbooks with a print of approximately 3 million copies
(5, pp 15-17) were published in 1973 alone. Individual physics, histaay and
philosophy textbooks are published in Turl~nen for the specialized scYcools,
tekhnilcums and WZ's.
The creation of WZ textbooks in the native language is directly connected
with the functioning of~Turl~en and Russian in the role of the language of
science. Whereas specialists in the huma.nities employ both languages, with
a certain predominance of Russian, in the sphere of the natural sciences
the results of research are set forth.in Russian, as a rule. This is par-
tially caused by the fact that the entire national teaching body in these
branches of science 3s actively hilingual. It could not be otherwise since
*From material of the current archives of the Tur~~en SSR Ministry of Education.
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"knowledge of Russian under the conditions ~f the republic, which has a small _
_ population and very limited possibilities for ~fie.translation and publication
in Turl~en of numerous works on various branches of ~cience and tec~nology
and literature and art, becomes an insisten~, ob~ective necessity" (1, p45).
Even were it to be allowed that the republic disposed of such posaibilities,
it would be necessary to take account of another fact of considerable
- importance: before the results of scientific research would have been made
known to the monolingual specialist following translation and publication
in his native language a certain period of time would ~ave elapsed in which
this new information would have lost some of its topicality. From this
viewpoint the predominant use in the republic of Russian as the language
of the natural sciences seems correct and corresponds to the interests of
scientific-technical progress.
At the same time it should be emphasized that the u~e of interacting languages
in the sphere of VI1Z tuition is at present the area of their functioning
which is in need of a conscious impact on the part of society geared to a
further expansion of the functions of Turl~en. The time has come, in our -
view, to raise in all seriousness the question of providing the WZ's with
the most essential textbooks in the students' native language. The republic
now has sufficient national scientific personnel capable of creating WZ
textbooks--translated or original. It is quite obvious that this task is
extraordinarily complex and that its accomplishment will take decades. For
this reason the creation of textbooks could be organized in stages, and a
start should be made with the preparation of textbooks in those subjects
whose study is envisaged in the first and second years, when a poor knowledge
of Russian by Turkmen students creates considerable difficulties in the as- -
similation of the study material at the proper scientific-theoretical level.
The creation of textbooks in the students' native language should be a prin-
cipal direction of the scientific-pedagogical activity of the corresponding
departments of the VL1Z's and other scientific establishments. All this must
be accompanied by a further intensification of work on instructing Turl~en
students in &ussian for the purpose of perfecting linguistic skills and pre-
paring them for independent use of specialized literature in Russian.
The preparation of textbooks of WZ's is also attended by difficulties of a
purely linguistic order, the undeveloped state of specialized term3nology
falling, as noted, in this category. The principal task of the present day
in this aspect is the development of work on the speediest elimination of
the gap between the ever increasing social loads and the comparatively low
level of scientific terminology of Turlanen. For this it is primarily es-
sential to raise terminological work in the republic to a higher level and
reveal the latenr potential of the development of the stylistic and syn-
tactical systems of the native language. However, this does not mean that
the preparation of WZ textbooks in the students' native language may be ~
deferred until the time o� the complete accomplishment of the above-men-
tioned tasks. The very process of the creation of new terms, like the
improvement of those which are already functioning in Turl~en and which are
reflected in bilingual terminological dictionaries, acquires great intensive-
ness precisely in connection with activity on the creation of texCbooks.
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_ Upon an examination of the distribution of functions between Turl~en and
Russian in the system of WZ tuition nor is it out of place to dwell on in-
dividual questions of an organizational nature whose optimum solution does
not present particular difficulty.
The republic has a practice according to which the list of entrance examina-
tions to certtain of the repubiic's WZ's incorporates a written examination
in Russian. If it is considered that the te~ching of Russian in Turkmen
schools, particularly the rural schools, is not yet organized everywhere
aL- the proper level and that the republic's indigenous population lives
predominantly in rural localities, it is not difficult to understand that
this procedure of WZ admittance could be reflected in the quality of the
student bod~. It cannot be ruled out that some students gifted in the sub-
jects in which they are specializing find themsel:ves kept out of the WZ's
because of poor language training. This contingent is often composed of
rural school ;raduates, wh31e the need for highly skilled personnel in cer-
tain professions is felt more acutely in rural localities than in the city.
In order to extricate ourselves from this situation it would be advisable
to afford applicants applying for nonphilological faculties of WZ's the
possibility of choosing one of two languages (Turl~en or Russian) and of
taking the written examination therein. Naturally, together with this it
is essential to setp up work on further 3mproving the teaching of Russian in
the Turkmen lecture hall, particularly in the rural schools.
The specific features of a relatively "monolingual" republic with a predom-
inantly rural population where bilingualism extends to only 7.4 percent of
Turl~ens (3, p 309) also put on the agenda the question of the introduction -
of the teaching of Turkmen in the Russian groups in the WZ's for the pur-
pose of teaching young specialists elementary skills in spoken Turkmen, par-
ticularly those whose labor activity will be connected with the local rural
population.
Turkmen and Russian intensively interact in the function of language of the -
press. It is important to note that the publication of literature of diverse
content in Turkmen in the republic has in all years since the revolution
constantly surpassed the publication of books in Russian both in copies
printed and in number of printed sheets. Thus 506 titles of books and bro-
chures with a total print of 4,518,000 capies, including 212:~ titles in
Turl~en in a print of 3,855,000 copies and 294 titles in Russian with
663,000 copies in prinC were published in Turkmenia in 1976 alone. A similar
" picture can also be aeen in the periodicals sphere. In the same year 27
newspapers with an annual circulation of 170.5 million, of which 14 news-
papers were in Turkncen, were published in the republic. Some 26 titles of
journals and continuing publications with an annua.l circulation of 11,435,000
copiea, of which 11,133,000 are in Turkmen (4, p 181), are currently pub-
lished in the republic.
_ ~The functional interaction of Turkmen and Russian also occurs in such spheres
of social life as artistic literature, the stage and movie theater, radio
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television and business correspondence. However, the main indicator of
the nature of the distribution of functions between two interacting lan-
guages in a society is their applicati,on in the role of vehicle for everyday
co~unication.
The use of languages in this function ia differentiated depending on the
territory and social affiliation of people and also on the specific place of
communication (in the family or at work). The rural Turl~en population ~
emr~oys its native language in almost aZl spheres of everyday life, this
being explained by the comparative homogeneity of the rural population in
national affiliation. Urban Turkmens turn alternately to both languages, the
choice of which in a specific situation depends on various factora, primarily
on the national coffiposition of the audience. At gathering, meetings and other
social undertakings Turl~en and Russian are employed in parallel. It must -
be noted that Russian is increasingly intensively becoming a part of the -
everyday life of Turkmens, particularly of the intelligentsia and the workers.
_ According to data of the 1970 population census, of the 1,416,700 Turkmens
living in the republic, 210,097 were fluent in Russian. In the years of
Soviet power a new body of Turkmens, numbering 9,214 people, has grown up
which regards Russian as its native l~nguage (3, p 306).
The achievement of complete harmonious national-Russian bilingualism, to
which the representatives of all of our country's nationalities aspire, is
possible when members of society have a correct idea of tii~dialectics of the
mutual relationship of the native language and the language of inter-nation
communication. Definite harm can be done to this by the linguistic one-
sidedness of certain individuals studying one langu~ge to the detriment of
the other. Turkmens voluntarily study the language of inter-nation communi-
cation since they are convinced that a knowledge of Russian brings them
closer to the economic and cultural life of the whole country, strengthens
international relations with other peoples, contributes to the mutual enrich-
ment of the national cultures and opens extensive possib3.lities for the speed-
iest familiarization with the achievements of the peoples of the USSR and the
entire world in vsrious spheres of production, acience and culture.
At the same time it has to be mentioned that there is currently a small group
of Turkmens in the republic which, knowing Russian to perfection, belittles
a knowledge of its own national language. Such people not only evoke the
pity of their nation's representatives but also "impoverish themselves and
limit their outlook and their possibilities in cultural growth and active
participation in the 13fe of all nations and divorce themselves them the
masses" (7, p 193). This assertion should not be understeod as coercion or
the imposition of a know3edge of the national language. Marxism-Leninism
recognizes the absolute freedom of the individual in choice of language,
advocates the all-around development of people in the socialist society and
encourages to the utmost respect for the native langua~ge, struggling at the
same time against both an exaggeratio.n and underestimation of the communica-
tive possibilities of whatever language--national or inter-nation.
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- The path of the Turkmen people toward social, scientific-technical and
cultural progress lies through a further extension of the functions of the
native language in close interaction with the language of inter-nation com-
munication and through the utmost development of Turkmen-Russian bilingual-
ism. Although considerable successes have been scored in the dissemination
of Ruaeian in the republic in the yeare of Soviet power~ the extent of Turk-
mena' knowledge thereof remains aiight. According to information of the -
, 1970 all-union population census, Turkmens, together with Uzbeks and Tad-
zhiks, proved the most "monolingual" of all the USSR nationalities: only
15.4 percent of Turl~ens knew Russ~an. Such a low percentage is also ex-
plained to a certain extent by socio-historical reasons. At the same time
it suggests that in the interests~ of the Turkmen people themselves it is
necessary to comprehensively intensify work on the dissemination of Russian
in the republic fully in accordance with the principles of Lenin's national
policy.
In order to intervene more actively in the linguistic processes occurring
in the republic and in order to consciously direct them into the necesszry
channel it is essential to make a thorough study of the current state of the
distribution of functions between Turl~en and Russian among different social
and age groups and to determine the nature of their employment in various
situations--in the family, school, work, public places and so forth. Such a
mass sociolinguistic population survey could be conducted by individual poll-
ing in accordance with a questionnaire compiled:~in advance and, if only for a
start, on individual territories or at individual enterprises. The informa- -
tion obtained could serve as good material for the development fo sociolin-
guistic research, which is designed to be of not only theoretical but also
great practical significance in the purposeful regulation of linguistic pro-
cesses in support of sacial progress.
Preliminary observations on the functional interaction of Turkmen and Russian
at the current stage enable us to conclude that two trends can be distinctly
traced in this sphere: first, Turkmen is constantly extending the boundaries
of its application and acquiring increasingly new social funfltions; second,
Turkmen-Russian bilingualism is becoming increasingly widespread, eliciting
the intensive interaction of Turkmen and Russian in all spheres of social
. lif e. Turl~en linguistics lags appreciably behind the present-day standard
of this process, and its scient3fic interpretation . constitutes the republic's
linguists' paramount task. .
Turl~en SSR Academy of Sciences Institute of Language and Literature imeni
Makhtumkuli. Received 20 September 1978.
LITERATURE ~
l. I. A. Azimov, "Turkmen-Russ3an Bilingualism," in the collection "Problem~~
dvuyazyc.hiya i mnogoyazychiya" [Problems of Bilingualism and Polyglotism],
Moscow, 1972.
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2. Yu. D. Desheriyev, "Zakonomernosti razvitiya literaturnykh yazykov
narodov SSSR v sovetskuyu epokhu. ~azvitiye obshchestvenyykh funktsiy
literaturnykh yazykov" jRegularities of the Development of the USSR
Peoples' Literary I~anguages in the Soviet Era. Development of the
_ Social Functions of the Literary I,anguages], Moscuw, 1976.
3. Itogi Vsesoyuznoy perepisi naseleniya 1970 goda" [Results of the 1970
All-Union Population Census], vol 4, Moscow, 1973.
4. "Narodnoye khozyaystvo TSSR v 1976 godu. Statisticheskiy yezhegodnik"
[National Economy of the Turkmen SSR in 1976. Statistical Yearbook],
Ashkhabad, 1978.
5. "Pechat' Turkmenskoy SSR za 50 let" [50 Years of the Turl~en SSR Press],
Ashkhabad, 1975.
6. T. Tachmuradov, B. Charyyarov, "Questions of Bilingualism and Polyglotism
Under the Conditions of tYi~.Turl~en SSR," in the collection "Problemy
dwyazychiya i mnogoyazychiya," Moscow, 1972.
7. Kh. Kh. Khanazarov, "Sblizheniye natsiy i natsional'nyye yazyki v SSSR"
jRapprochement of the Nations and National Languages in the USSR], Tash-
kent, 1963.
B. Charyyarov, "The Use of Turkmen and Russian in the Sphere of High
School and Higher Education in the Turkmen SSR," IZVESTIYA AKADEMLI NAUK
TURI~NSKOY SSR SERIYA OBSHCHESTVENYYKH NAUK No 4, 1975. -
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo 'Ylym", "IZVESTIYA ACADEMII NAUK TURKMENSKOY SSR
SERIYA OBSHCHESTVENYYKH NAUK", 1979
~ t
8850
CSO: 1800
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