Cornish Language Secures New Rights As Russia Boosts Influence

On January 24, 2026, two stories—one from the windswept peninsula of Cornwall and another from the heart of Central Asia—captured the world’s attention for a shared reason: the enduring power of language in shaping identity, politics, and influence. While the Cornish language, Kernewek, celebrated a major victory in its long struggle for recognition and revival, Russia intensified its campaign to maintain the prevalence of Russian in Central Asia, underscoring how languages can serve as both shields of heritage and instruments of soft power.

The Cornish language, spoken by a small but passionate community in the far southwest of England, was granted extra protection under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This move, announced by the UK government in December 2025 and celebrated by Cornwall Council and local MPs, elevates Kernewek to the same level of legal protection as other Celtic tongues like Welsh, Manx, and Scots Gaelic, according to the BBC. The Council of Europe hailed the decision, stating, “This decision significantly strengthens the protection and promotion of the Cornish language.”

For Cornwall, this recognition is more than symbolic. UK authorities have pledged to implement 36 promotional measures to support Kernewek’s growth. These include teaching the language in schools, allowing official documents to be submitted in Cornish, and expanding its presence in media, cultural activities, and daily life. Already, 26 primary schools have joined the Go Cornish scheme to introduce children to the language, and bilingual signs and Kernewek spoken in council meetings are now increasingly common sights and sounds across the county.

“It’s a proud day,” said Cornwall Council leader Leigh Frost, reflecting on the journey to bring Kernewek into wider use. “Seeing bilingual signs, and hearing Kernewek spoken within council meetings is now an everyday occurrence, which shows how far we have come, and this is a further step in ensuring further growth in its use.”

The path to this moment has been long and hard-fought. St Ives MP Andrew George recalled, “We’ve come so far since I took our campaign around five government departments in the late 1990s, until ministers realised we weren’t going away. With the Cornish language community, we successfully fought to secure official recognition in 2002.” For George, the news was a cause for celebration: “Pur da! Spladn! (Very good. Brilliant.)”

Redruth and Camborne MP Perran Moon echoed these sentiments, noting that the new status puts Cornish “on a par with all other Celtic languages.” He emphasized the need for the government to meet its obligations under the charter, stating, “I have already personally asked the Prime Minister this week to consider the obligations inferred from Part III status and in particular the changes required to allow anyone that wishes to learn Cornish to do so.”

Despite the enthusiasm, the challenge remains considerable. Cornwall Council estimates that there are only 400 to 500 advanced speakers of Cornish, with perhaps 2,000 to 5,000 possessing some basic knowledge. Yet, the hope is that official recognition and active measures will help reverse the long decline and bring Kernewek back from the brink—a testament to the resilience of regional identity in the face of globalization.

Thousands of miles away, a very different linguistic drama is unfolding, as reported by Carly Brant for Eurasianet and The Caspian Post. In late 2025, Russia launched Nomad TV, a new Russian-language television channel in Kyrgyzstan, broadcasting Kremlin-friendly messaging across Central Asia around the clock. The channel’s editorial team features Anna Abakumova, a journalist with a background at RT, the state-backed broadcaster known for its pro-Kremlin stance. The launch of Nomad TV is just one aspect of Moscow’s broader strategy to preserve its influence in a region where its traditional dominance is slipping.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its grip on Central Asia has weakened. China has emerged as the region’s top trading partner, while the United States and European Union have made notable economic inroads. Nevertheless, Central Asia’s strategic importance to Russia has only grown. The region serves as a vital trade conduit, helping Moscow circumvent international sanctions and sustain its war effort in Ukraine. Yet, with fiscal pressures mounting, Russia has found it harder to wield economic or political leverage over Central Asian states. In this climate, the Russian language has become a crucial, cost-effective tool for maintaining sway.

Russian remains the lingua franca for trade, higher education, and diplomacy throughout Central Asia, especially among urban elites. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian enjoys official language status, while in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, it is recognized as a language of “interethnic communication.” Many parents continue to favor Russian-language schools, believing they offer better economic prospects for their children. Labor migration between Central Asia and Russia also keeps the language relevant, even as the overall number of Russian speakers in the region has declined since the Soviet Union’s collapse, particularly in rural areas.

Yet, the linguistic landscape is shifting. Central Asian governments, eager to assert sovereignty and foster national identity, have implemented reforms to promote local languages. Uzbekistan is gradually transitioning from the Cyrillic to a modified Latin alphabet, while Kazakhstan is also moving toward latinization. The Organization of Turkic States—which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye—recently approved a 34-letter Latin-based alphabet to encourage linguistic unity. In Turkmenistan, Russian-language education is being discouraged, and even Kyrgyzstan has introduced legislation requiring 60 percent of radio and television programming to be in Kyrgyz.

Recognizing these headwinds, Russian officials are working to adapt. In July 2025, Russia’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned a study by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) to assess the use of Russian abroad, focusing on countries like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, China, and India. A similar study took place in Kazakhstan in 2024. Though the findings have not been made public, the ongoing research signals Moscow’s intent to refine its language promotion efforts, especially in former Soviet republics where great power competition is intensifying.

For Russia, preserving the widespread use of Russian is not just about nostalgia—it’s a bulwark against encroachment by rivals like China, the US, and the EU. As Eurasianet notes, “Language, in Moscow’s view, is a bulwark against further encroachment in Central Asia by rival powers.” But as Central Asian leaders seek to balance relations with multiple global players, Russian faces growing resistance from those determined to chart their own course.

Both stories, in their own way, reveal how language remains a battlefield for identity, influence, and sovereignty. Whether it’s a small Celtic tongue reclaiming its place in Cornwall or a global power striving to keep its language alive in distant lands, the stakes are high—and the outcomes will shape communities and regions for generations to come.