A group of non-factional members of the Verkhovna Rada introduced a bill that significantly softens the restrictions on the use of the Russian language in Ukraine. The authors of the document were deputies Vadim Novinsky, Musa Magomedov, Dmitry Shpenov, Sergey Magera and Victoria Grib, according to the website of the Rada.
In particular, the authors of the bill propose allowing deputies to speak at meetings of parliamentary committees and commissions in languages of national minorities, which include Russian. Translation of the speech of the elected representatives into the state language will be carried out by the apparatus of the Rada.
The document cancels the quotas for the use of the Ukrainian language existing in Ukraine. For national television channels they make up 75%, for local - 60%. According to current laws, in the future, all print media and electronic media should switch to the Ukrainian language.
In addition, the bill proclaims the right of all media to freely choose the language of communication with the audience.
“The volumes of national, regional and local broadcasting in the state language, minority languages and other languages are determined by the broadcasters themselves ... Everyone is guaranteed the right to consume information products of the media in any language,” the document says.
The bill also provides citizens with an “inalienable right” to receive secondary and vocational education in their native languages. According to the deputies, the study of the state language should take place "in a volume sufficient to integrate into Ukrainian society."
Will not find support
According to experts interviewed by RT, the amendments prepared by non-factional members of the Verkhovna Rada cancel the main provisions of the language policy documents that were approved during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko. In 2017, he signed the Law on Education, and in 2019, shortly before the end of his presidential term, the law On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language (it is also called the state language law).
These documents actually imply the total Ukrainization of all spheres of society, with the exception of domestic and family communication. For example, the law on state language prohibits the use of languages of national minorities in the catering system, in communication with bank employees and doctors.
Compliance will be monitored by the language ombudsman. On September 4, Taras Kremin, a former deputy from the Popular Front, co-author of laws on language restrictions won the competition for this position. In the parliamentary elections held in July, the politician ran for ex-Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman from the “Ukrainian Strategy”, but this party did not overcome the five percent barrier.
In a RT commentary, the director of the Institute for Peace Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov noted that the adoption of the state language law was one of the last “Russophobic chords” of Poroshenko’s rule. According to him, the document caused fierce debate both in the Parliament and in Ukrainian society.
“The law on state language is aimed at the almost complete exclusion of the Russian language from the public space of Ukraine. It does not take into account either the cultural or ethnic characteristics of the country. Apparently, in order not to cause a social explosion, many points will be introduced in stages. But this circumstance does not cancel the cannibalistic essence of the law, ”said Denisov.
In an interview with RT, the president of the Center for System Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko noted that a significant part of Ukrainian society has a request for concessions in the field of language policy, which has gradually been tightened in recent years. The expert recalled that the victory of Vladimir Zelensky in the presidential election was provided, among other things, by the votes of residents of the Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine.
“Ukrainian society is not monolithic and unanimous. There is a request for the protection of the Russian language, but Novinsky’s bill has no prospects, given the composition of the Verkhovna Rada, ”Ischenko said.
A similar point of view is shared by the director of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Policy Management Ruslan Bortnik. In a commentary on RT, he said that the initiative of non-factional deputies would be "quite difficult to implement in parliament."
- The meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of the new convocation
- © Press Service of the President of Ukraine
“Novinsky’s bill can hypothetically support the“ Opposition Platform ”by Viktor Medvedchuk. Perhaps he will find a response from some deputies of the “Servants of the people”. In my opinion, up to 100 deputies can vote for these amendments. Naturally, this is not enough, ”Bortnik stated.
According to the expert, any actions related to the return of Ukraine to the “normal linguistic state” can cause an acute reaction of nationalist groups. Bortnik does not exclude the possibility of riots in the center of Kiev. The less radical forces, according to the political scientist, will accuse the president of "betraying and serving the interests of Russia."
Meanwhile, an RT source in the Golos party noted that the vast majority of citizens do not support the policy of forced Ukrainization pursued by Poroshenko. In his opinion, the current authorities have all the necessary levers to curb the radicals.
“Arsen Avakov is able to cope with street nationalists. He was left to the post of head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs precisely with this condition. He must control radical groups. Moreover, he oversees some of them personally, ”the source said.
"Like in the days of Poroshenko"
Today in the office of the Ukrainian president there is no clarity about the fate of the state language law. In late April, Zelensky said that the document signed by Poroshenko “became a hostage” to political rhetoric and was adopted “without sufficient discussion with the public.”
The head of state promised "a thorough analysis of this law to make sure that it respects all constitutional rights and interests of all citizens of Ukraine." However, Zelensky’s team and the Servant of the People party controlled by him haven’t yet commented on whether the country will continue to pursue total Ukrainization.
A RT source in the ruling party said the president did not like the law on state language - Zelensky considers it discriminatory, "violating the rights of national minorities."
In turn, Bortnik notes that, despite the personal attitude to the law on state language, the head of state will not go to its abolition. Instead, the Rada may soon pass a special law on the protection of the rights of national minorities. Zelensky announced the need to develop this document in late August in an interview with 1 + 1 television channel.
“I am sure there should be a bill protecting minority rights. And everything should be written out there: their language, their faith - and enough. We have one army - the Ukrainian. It seems to me that there should be a bill that protects their rights, ”the head of state said.
Bortnik expects that the law, which was announced by the president of Ukraine, will spell out some concessions in the country's language policy. At the same time, the analyst doubts that the document will provide full protection for Russian-speaking citizens from harassment of the authorities.
- President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in the Verkhovna Rada
- © Press Service of the President of Ukraine
“Zelensky himself is a Russian-speaking, in his environment, including Verkhovna Rada speaker Dmitry Razumkov, almost all Russian-speaking. But this does not prevent the same Razumkov from turning off the microphone to deputies speaking in Russian, as another speaker did in the days of Poroshenko, ”Bortnik said.
Meanwhile, Denis Denisov emphasized that the law on national minorities will certainly be integrated into the current ideological and political system of Ukraine, which a priori excludes support for the Russian language and Russian culture.
“Issues related to the basic humanitarian aspects of the functioning of the Ukrainian state are currently taboo. "Servant of the people" will not support Novinsky’s amendments. The text of Zelensky’s law has not yet been published, but it is unlikely that it will satisfy the request of Russian-speaking citizens for the freedom to use their native language, ”Denisov summed up.