Local authorities across Russia are increasingly taking up arms to defend the Russian language. We already reported on raids on advertisements that used the word "sale" in Kaliningrad. Now, culture officials in the republic of Chuvashia are bent on promoting the Russian word "dobro" instead of the overused English "okay."
If the measures in Kaliningrad were indeed obligatory, the Culture Ministry of this tiny ethnic republic about 630 km east of Moscow is actually supporting a grass roots effort as part of its much larger good-will program, Year of Good Deeds.
"This initiative [to replace okay with "dobro"] - even though it's deeply supported by the Culture Ministry - is part of civil society," deputy Culture Minister Alexei Belov told The Moscow News. The agency is fostering a whole slew of events aimed at bringing good deeds - and good deed doers - together.
According to official statements, the "Year of Good Deeds" was launched by decree of the republic's president, Nikolai Fedorov. Its aim is to essentially facilitate charity by publicizing charity events and providing a conduit between those who want to help out and various social institutions - kindergartens, libraries, and assistance programs - that need the help.
Part of the effort is an interactive online portal, Za Dobro. "This is a site where two groups of citizens should meet - those who need help and those who are willing to help," Culture Minister Natalia Volodina said in an official statement. "We would like for all citizens in the republic to be involved in [the site.]" According to Belov, the whole project is funded privately from individuals and companies that want to donate.
One of the first citizens' initiatives came from a self-styled "intellectual club" called Tochka Rosta (point of growth). Consisting of just a handful of members, the club started making calls for people to stop saying "okay" and start using the ancient Russian equivalent, "dobro," which means good.
"Our group found the etymology of the word okay. For us Russians, it's an empty sound," Dmitri Shepelev, one of the members, told The Moscow News. According to him, Volodina liked the proposal, and now calls to use the Russian word are posted on the site. "Dobro has positive energy. And the organizers of the Year of Good Deeds liked it."
With support from the Culture Ministry, it's no surprise that what began as a chain-letter email urging people to use the word "dobro" is being reported nationwide as all but a ban by regional officials on the English parasite.
But in reality, nothing resembling punitive measures was being proposed. "We are going to support all initiatives within the framework of the year of good deeds, including this one," Belov said.
"Okay" is one of the most widely used words in the world, but its etymology is murky. Some theories link it to incorrectly-spelled abbreviations during the presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson in 1830s America. It entered the Russian lexicon in the 1990s and gained wider appeal through its use in online chats and SMS messages.
While the initiative is unprecedented, it does reflect a nation-wide tendency to launch measures protecting the Russian language. In 2002, the Russian government set aside 80.5 million rubles (over $3.2 million) for this purpose, RIA Novosti reported. And while the Chuvashia initiative is not restrictive in any way, other regions have been fighting foreign words more aggressively. Last year, which was also the nationwide Year of the Language, the Omsk region governor ordered authorities to come up with measures to keep foreign words out of Russian advertisement. Law enforcement in the Belgorod Region began cracking down on public cursing.
By Anna Arutunyan
