The elected deputies of the Verkhovna Rada staged a verbal skirmish over the Russian language. The reason for this was the speech of Vadim Rabinovich, co-chair of the Opposition Platform - For Life party, during a meeting of the preparatory deputy group.
He appealed to the parliament in Russian, after which the deputy from the European Solidarity party Irina Gerashchenko stopped him and urged him to speak in Ukrainian, because the country has a law on the state language.
Recall, at the end of the presidency, the ex-leader of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the law on the state language, which provides for the use of the Ukrainian language as an official language in state bodies and public organizations.
After Rabinovich’s statement in Russian and the remark that followed, Gerashchenko took the floor at the head of the presidential party “Servant of the People” and chairman of the deputy group Dmitry Razumkov. He supported Gerashchenko and expressed the opinion that parliamentarians should speak Ukrainian.
“The language of work of the Verkhovna Rada, its bodies and officials is the state language,” Razumkov said.
- The head of the presidential party "Servant of the People" and the chairman of the deputy group Dmitry Razumkov
- © verkhovna.rada.ukraine
He also requested all current and future deputies to not violate the regulations of the Verkhovna Rada.
“If we continue to violate the regulations, I will be forced to ask the device to turn off the microphone,” concluded Razumkov.
According to Rabinovich, he did not violate the law by his statement. A representative of the Opposition Platform - For Life party said that “his voters speak Russian,” and the regulations mentioned by other parliamentarians apply only to the Verkhovna Rada.
“We are not yet the Verkhovna Rada,” said Rabinovich and asked for a translator. Note that this request has not been fulfilled.
Political analyst Yuriy Svetov, in an interview with RT, expressed the opinion that a split line has already been formed in the new Ukrainian parliament, which will touch on many issues.
“In this case, when a representative of the opposition forces speaks out, one of the tasks of the majority is to make this fraction marginal, drive it into a corner, and not give any influence. Here is a typical example, I think such attacks will continue. Given the majority of the votes of the president’s party, they can dictate their terms, ”Svetov said.
“There will be some mitigation”
The law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language” has been in force in Ukraine since July 16, 2019. In addition to using the Ukrainian language in government agencies, it is also planned to increase the share of Ukrainian-language broadcasts on television and radio, and Internet and print media are required to have a Ukrainian version. In the Russian Foreign Ministry, this document was called contrary to international standards.
As stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the law provides for exceptions for English and other languages of the EU - “this means that the only object of attack is the Russian language, which is spoken by the vast majority of Ukrainian citizens, and for many it is native”.
On the eve of his election, President Vladimir Zelensky spoke of plans to check this document for compliance with the rights and interests of citizens. As the Ukrainian leader noted, the law became “hostage to political rhetoric”, since the document was considered during the election cycle.
“My fundamental position is that the state should promote the development of the Ukrainian language by creating incentives and positive examples, rather than prohibitions and punishments, complicating bureaucratic procedures, and increasing the number of officials instead of reducing them,” Zelensky said in April.
The issue of legislative use of the Ukrainian language has also been highlighted by the OSCE. According to the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Lamberto Zannier, the President of Ukraine demonstrates readiness for a dialogue on the status of the Russian language in the country.
“There are signs of this, for example, this is indicated by the inaugural speech of President Zelensky. The fact is that he spoke half Ukrainian, half Russian. He also mentioned that language is a factor that should unite society, and not divide it ... Thus, there is every reason to discuss further actions. I expect openness to discuss these issues, ”RIA Novosti quoted Zinier as saying in late July.
However, in August, the adviser to the president of Ukraine and the elected deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Nikita Poturaev said that the law on the state language does not need a fundamental review.
“We see no reason to review quotas on nationwide, entertainment channels. We see no reason to review radio quotas. I do not see any reason to review the fundamental provisions of the law on the functioning of the state language, ”said Poturaev.
Political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak, in an interview with RT, suggested that the new Ukrainian authorities should demonstrate a more loyal attitude towards the Russian language. However, the expert admitted that some changes in this area will nevertheless occur.
“There will be some mitigation, not enough to talk about major changes, but compared with the horror that has been for five years, there will be at least glimpses of common sense. So far, the new government, which is able to form a complete government and put its people on key posts, is not fulfilling what was expected of it, ”said Dudchak.
He drew attention to the fact that representatives of the Zelensky team have recently said repeatedly that there is no need to revise the law. However, the political scientist himself believes that the issue of language affects many areas of life in Ukraine.
“The language problem affects the standard of living, after all. A lot of things depend on this. This is one of the reasons that people are leaving the country, and Donbass cannot be reintegrated in any way without solving this problem, ”the expert summed up.