ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses an instance when several languages compete for the role of the dominant language as can often happen in non-Russian regions of the Russian Federation. The nation-building of the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Far East is analysed through a discussion of the strategies and outcomes of language policy as a central element of the nationalising' project. Language can be a very emotional issue in post-communist states and this is one explanation for why post-communist countries are seen as being in the process of nationalising' in contrast with the Western civic' state. State level policy, such as the adoption of various legislative documents, can surely contribute to the development of a significant and positive change in thinking about the identity and connectedness to larger society. The process of formation of civic, ethnic or linguistic identities in a multi-ethnic society today can rarely be completely prescribed by theory.
