[Idiom] "at the expense of sth"

[smilodon47]

Could anyone help me out? I do not know what phrase or subject here "at the expense of " modifies for :-(. As far as I know, "at the expense of " goes before a "noun".
"This trend towards establishing the primacy of national cultures and languages at the expense of Russian builds on twenty years of steady nationalization of the culture of these states as a matter of deliberate policy, on their deliberate efforts to maintain an openness to the larger globalizing trends in the world economy, and on a generation of growing restrictions on Russian language use in broadcasting and other media."
Thanks so much!

 

[Tarheel]

My interpretation of that phrase is that the Russian language is used less compared to the other languages in question.

 

[probus]

Re: meaning of "at the expense of sth"

"At the expense of Russian" is an adverbial phrase that modifies "establishing". As the primacy of native culture is increasingly established, that of the imported Russian culture is reduced.

 

[smilodon47]

Re: meaning of "at the expense of sth"

"At the expense of Russian" is an adverbial phrase that modifies "establishing". As the primacy of native culture is increasingly established, that of the imported Russian culture is reduced.

Thanks for your help. Now I understand the whole sentence

 

[smilodon47]

My interpretation of that phrase is that the Russian language is used less compared to the other languages in question.

Yeah, I think you're right but it could be more precise if we add "increasingly": "Russian is increasingly used less" because of new policy of these states. Whatever, thanks so much !

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps:

The Russian language is being used less in those countries as a result of the policies in those countries designed to discourage the use of Russian.
​