I have this in my .xinitrc:

setxkbmap -layout "jp,ru" -option "grp:alt_shift_toggle"

(I'm in Japan, have a local keyboard, and occasionally use the Russian keyboard layout)

This works fine, most of the time:

misha@misha-lmd:~$ setxkbmap -query

rules:      evdev

model:      pc105

layout:     jp,ru

options:    grp:alt_shift_toggle

But occasionally, I'm no longer able to switch to Russian. When I repeat the above command, I get:

misha@misha-lmd:~$ setxkbmap -query

rules:      evdev

model:      pc105

layout:     jp

options:    grp:alt_shift_toggle

So something is changing the X keyboard layout. What could it be, and how do I get rid of it? It's annoying to have to do setxkbmap -layout "jp,ru" -option "grp:alt_shift_toggle" every time the Russian layout stops working.