Presidential decree: All languages are equal, but Russian is more equal

A wide-ranging presidential decree lays out an imperialist program to promote the Russian language as a conduit for Russian identity and for traditional spiritual and moral values worldwide. The decree furthermore purges Russian of foreign vocabulary and indigenous languages of non-Cyrillic letters. On June 24, Putin signed Law 168-F3, requiring that from March 1, 2026 public signage and labeling be presented in Russian with Cyrillic letters, with some exceptions allowing use of other approved languages of the Russian Federation. To top this law off, on July 11, Putin signed Decree 474 “Approval of the Fundamentals of the State Language Policy of the Russian Federation”, which went into effect immediately. This decree contains a raft of proposals aimed at the “preservation, development, and support” of three classes of language, starting with Russian.