Russian Language in Ukraine
Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 08:04:54 +0200 (EET)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: Russian Language in Ukraine
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Eldar Zeynalov <[email protected]>
Russian Language in Ukraine
(Translated from Russian by MINELRES)
EMBASSY OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC
Baku, Bakikhanov str. 17
Tel: 95-53-00, 98-60-16.
Fax: 97-36-08.
E-Mail: [email protected]
INFORMATION BULLETIN N 41 (162)
22 September 2000
ITAR TASS, 14 September 2000
On the situation of Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and the
Baltic States.
Moscow. Following a meeting with the High Commissioner on National
Minorities Max van der Stoel, Aleksandr Blohin, the Minister on
Federal Affairs, Ethnic and Migration Policies of Russian Federation
stated today that the situation of Russian-speaking population in
Western Ukraine "does not withstand any criticism".
"Nowhere else had the discrimination against Russian language reached
such scale. It worries us a lot", said the Russian minister. Max van
der Stoel stated in this regard: "I am still examining these issues;
conclusions will follow month or two later".
The situation of Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States has
also been discussed.
Vremja (Time), 15 September 2000
Max van der Stoel calls Russia and Ukraine to look for compromise in
inter-ethnic relations.
Negotiation between Aleksandr Blohin, the Minister on Federal Affairs,
Ethnic and Migration Policies of Russian Federation and Max van der
Stoel, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities took place
yesterday in Moscow. The main theme of the meeting was the problem of
Russians in Ukraine and Ukrainians in Russia. The issue of
Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States was concerned.
The main outcome of the one-hour meeting was expressed interest in
searching for a compromise to get out of the jungle of mutual
interethnic claims. Noting the firm, principal position of the High
Commissioner concerning the Law on the State Language in Latvia, the
Russian minister expressed his hope that the Commissioner's position
will influence policies of the united Europe as a whole.
Discrimination against Russian language in Ukraine, where Russian form
a significant part of population, is the main concern of the minister.
Declaration of Ukrainian as the sole state language in Ukraine might
deprive these people of possibilities to receive information and
occupy state positions. According to the minister, main charges of the
Ukrainian side are that the Ukrainian language and culture in Russia
lack conditions for free development. Only few dozens Ukrainian
schools exist in Russia, where more than 3.3 million Ukrainians are
living.
The minister supports creation of new education establishments and
classes to study Ukrainian culture and suggests the Ukrainian diaspora
in Russia should take more initiative. So far, the minister believes,
all Ukrainians living in Russia had a fine command of Russian and some
of them do not even understand Ukrainian.
ITAR-TASS, 15 September 2000
Russian movement of Ukraine draws attention of the Council of Europe
to discrimination of the Russian population of the country.
Simferopol. Address of the Russian movement of Ukraine to the Council
of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) states that contrary
to Ukraine's obligations before the Council of Europe, authorities
conduct policies of assimilation of national minorities.
A range of decisions, taken in Ukraine recently, is aimed at
Ukrainization of all spheres of life. All the other languages, but
Ukrainian, are excluded from state and municipal institutions even in
the regions, where national minorities form majority of the
population. A draft law of the Parliament introduces punishments and
fines for "not using Ukrainian language". Authorities of the Western
Ukraine demonstrate especially intolerant attitude towards Russian
language. So-called "Ukrainization detachments", established in Lvov,
perform police functions. Publications in Russian language are taxed
50% more and thus, books in mother tongue were made unaffordable to
Russians.
Address also describes numerous examples when Russian language was
expelled from education. Number of pupils, studying in Russian, has
dropped by more than half-a-million during the last four years. The
number of schools with Russian language of instruction decreased: in
Odessa oblast by half, in Kharkov oblast by third. In Roven, Ternopol
and Kiev oblasts no Russian-language schools exist any longer.
National minorities are in fact deprived of the right to create their
own political parties.
--
==============================================================
MINELRES - a forum for discussion on minorities in Central&Eastern
Europe
Submissions: [email protected]
Subscription/inquiries: [email protected]
List archive: http://www.riga.lv/minelres/archive.htm
==============================================================