Joseph Stalin’s rise to power in the 1930s signaled a dramatic shift in the Soviet language policy. The Latin orthographies promoted by Institut Narodov Severa were soon replaced by Cyrillic writing, and education in the indigenous languages outlawed.Grenoble, 2006.
In the case of Nivkh, the Latin alphabet was officially replaced in March of 1937Central Executive Committee of the USSR, 1937. and Erukhim Abramovich Kreinovich, who had led its development, was arrested on charges of counterrevolutionary activities and espionage on behalf of Japan. He was sentenced to ten years in Gulag.Memorial Society Krasnoyarsk, n.d. Later in life, Kreinovich would make additionl contributions to the studies of Nivkh language.Kreinovich, 1979.
By the time the transition to Cyrillic writing was completed, and a new primer published,Savelyeva, 1952. Nivkh was effectively dead as a written language.Kolga et al, 1991/2001.
Central Executive Committee of the USSR. (1937, March 7). Новые алфавиты для народов Севера [New alphabets for the peoples of the North]. In Остяко-Вогульская правда [Ostyako-Vogulskaya Pravda] 73(729), p. 3. Retrieved 20 September 2026 from web.archive.org
Grenoble, L. A. (2006). Language Policy in the Soviet Union, p. 54. Springer Science & Business Media. Retrieved 20 September 2026 from books.google.no
Memorial Society Krasnoyarsk. (n.d.). Крейнович Ерухим Абрамович [Kreinovich Erukhim Abramovich]. Retrieved 20 September 2026 from memorial.krsk.ru
Kolga, M., Tõnurist, I., Vaba, L. & Viikberg, J. (2001). The Nivkhs. In The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire. (Original work published 1991). Retrieved 20 September 2026 from arhiiv.eki.ee
Savelyeva, V. N. (1952). Букварь: Для подготовит. кл [ABC book: For preparatory classes]. Uꞓpedgiz. Retrieved 20 September 2026 from rusneb.ru
