Esperanto Soviet Union

I was reading up today about national linguistic reforms - mainly, Mustafa Kemal's reforms of Ottoman Turkish into the nearly-unrecognisable Modern Turkish, in a different script, grammar reforms, etc, and I'm aware that several early Soviet politicians - the most famous one being Leon Trotsky - who wanted to reform the Russian language, by transferring it to the Roman script and doing other modernizing efforts.

Now, one area where the Soviets actually did make a massive effort with payoff was their education and literacy programs. Now, what if the Soviets decided not only to modernize the Russian language - but to replace it entirely, by teaching all Soviet children Esperanto as their first language, 'The international language'? After all, it would certainly fit with the rhetoric and philosophy of the Bolsheviks the time.

So, let's give a PoD of Lenin learning Esperanto while in Switzerland, and, on his accesion to power, decides, with massive support, to replace the Russian language. What happens?
 
Wow, this makes for a good butterfly. For one, I could see such policies continue in revolutionary China.

Of course, a Esperanto Soviet Union, if just that nation alone, would turn the language into a major international force that could possibly rival English due to its intentions as a international language.
 
It would fit well with Trotsky's plan for a global revolution; a global language to go with it.

I suppose it's also a bit 1984, stop people being able to communicate dissent as easily.
 
It could also polarise the language as a 'communist' one. Say the Soviet Union also collapses in this TL - I can imagine the mass revival of old languages, such as Russian, in an effort to stamp out the communist era of the country. It would take a long, long time though and may be impossible to revive completely.
 
Wow, this makes for a good butterfly. For one, I could see such policies continue in revolutionary China.

Of course, a Esperanto Soviet Union, if just that nation alone, would turn the language into a major international force that could possibly rival English due to its intentions as a international language.
Perhaps - even if the Soviet Union does collapse Marxist parties around the world woul already be able able to create clusters of Esperanto speakers all over, as the language of International Brotherhood. After all...

La Internacio


Leviĝu, en mizer' dronanta,
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Al mortbatalo pro l' liber'.
Malnovan mondon ni detruos
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Kaj nian novan ni konstruos:
Ne nuloj-ĉio estu ni !

Por finlukto socia
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Kaj la Internacio
Triumfu en tutmond' !
Por finlukto socia
(ktp)
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Nur ĝia propra forta man'.
Por ke pereu la rabuloj,
Por liberiĝu la spirit'.
Varmegan feron la forĝuloj,
Ni forĝu mem sen intermit'.

(al refreno)
Premegas ŝtato laboriston,
Imposto kaj konstituci' ;
Favoras nur ekspluatiston,
Favoras nur al tirani'.
Sufiĉe da suferricevo.
Laŭ egaleca la leĝar'
Neniu estas rajt' sen devo,
Nek iu devo sen rajtar'.

(al refreno)
Apoteoze abomenaj
La reĝoj de minar' kaj rel'
Ja estis ĉiam tro senĝenaj
En sia parazita ŝtel'.
En kas' konservis la friponoj
Produktojn niajn de l' labor',
Do per devigo al redonoj
Niaĵon nur ni prenos for.

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Estrar' nin trompis artifike,----
Por ni do ----pac' ! por ĝi ----milit' !
Rompinte la armeojn strike
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Insistis niaj kanibaloj,
Ke kuraĝuloj estu ni, ----
Do kontraŭ propraj generaloj
Ekpafos baldaŭ la gvardi'.

(al refreno)
Nur ni laborarmeaj eroj
De l' urboj kaj de la kampar',
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Vi iru for, parazitar' !
Kaj se por via bando puno
Alvenos en la flamribel',
Por ni ekbrilos hela suno
Radiadante en ĉiel'.
 
Now, what if the Soviets decided not only to modernize the Russian language - but to replace it entirely, by teaching all Soviet children Esperanto as their first language, 'The international language'? After all, it would certainly fit with the rhetoric and philosophy of the Bolsheviks the time.
I don't know if that's what they would do because Esperanto was meant as an international second language and radical and revolutionary as they were, I don't think the Bolsheviks would want to erase an entire language from the face of the Earth. Perhaps Esperanto could still be espoused by the Communists as the international language, but not at the expense of the languages in place. The imposition of Esperanto as a first language could also cause some negative effects on the Bolsheviks' sensitive nationalities policy.

It is also interesting to note that before the Revolution, Joseph Stalin tried to learn Esperanto which he believed would be the "language of the future", only to turn on the Esperantist movement and denounce it as the "language of spies" later on when he was in power.
 
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