Penza, 26 November 2013. PenzaNews. The head of the Council for National Strategy Valery Khomyakov criticized the idea of the governor of the Penza region Vasily Bochkarev to translate street signs and banners from a foreign language into Russian.

According to him, the head of the subordinate entity of the Federation “is most likely trying to deflect attention away from vital problems.”

“Maybe, we should not look up at signs, but look down at the road. Does the road match the sign it runs by? Perhaps, it is more important to bring the roads in order,” Valery Khomyakov remarked.

According to him, translating the signs into Russian can be quite expensive.

“Let him [the governor] count, how much it will cost to rewrite the signs,” he said.

“Where does this exotics issue come from to the heads of the governors of the old school? [Aman] Tuleev [the governor of the Kemerovo region] decided to send people to prison for vagrancy. I do not know what epidemic influences them, perhaps, they reminisce the Soviet times,” news agency REGNUM quotes Valery Khomyakov.

However, the minister of public relations and mass communications Alexei Ilika in an interview to the same news agency said that entrepreneurs are too enthusiastic using foreign words.

“The governor suggested writing translation under signs and advertising. In each city, including Penza, there are a lot of foreign firms, including those with well-known names, they will definitely not go for it. The issue concerns local firms, it is them that we talk about,” he said.

The minister did not manage to specify the way the governor’s order would be executed.

“I am not ready yet to tell you what the translation in banners and signs will look like – first in a foreign language, then in Russian or vice versa. It is being decided. It could be a recommendation or something else. You should understand, no one will force, put pressure on people and their patriotic feelings. Those working under franchise agreement will not agree with it,” Alexei Ilika added.

Meanwhile, he called the Penza governor’s idea “conceptually right.”

“We are too obsessed with new “smart” foreign words, though there are great synonyms in Russian. For instance, I taught my daughter instead of the word “hilarious,” which is now popular among the youth, to say a beautiful word “amusing.” She got used to it and uses that word,” the minister pointed out.

“As the governor says, at the heart of everything – economy, politics and so on – there is education,” the follower of the regional head remarked.