CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE PLANNING IN MUSCOVITE RUSSIA FROM THE 16TH TO THE MID-17TH CENTURY

Abstract

The article examines concepts and practices of language planning in Muscovite Russia from the 16th to the mid-17th century. Using a sociolinguistic approach, the author in this article analyzes the historical prerequisites, ideological foundations (primarily the doctrine of “Moscow – the Third Rome”), and specific measures in the fields of status planning and corpus planning in Muscovite Russia. The study demonstrates how language policy aimed to establish the unique status of the Church Slavonic language of the Russian recension, its sacralization and purification, thereby serving the goals of legitimizing the centralized state, constructing a national-religious identity, and strengthening the prestige of Muscovite Russia as the center of the Orthodox world. The conclusion highlights the long-term impact of this planning on the stabilization of the written language, the formation of the Great Russian nationality, and the development of Russian statehood.