Ukraine makes Russian an official language, rekindling protests

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich signed a bill into law Wednesday that makes Russian an official language in some parts of the former Soviet republic. The bow to the country's large Russian minority has outraged Ukrainian nationalists and the president's political opponents.

The bill introduced this year by Yanukovich's Party of the Regions spurred fistfights in parliament, demonstrations and hunger strikes. Opposition politicians, including jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, accuse Yanukovich of trying to boost his standing among Russian speakers ahead of October parliamentary elections. They also warn that making official the mother tongue of long-dominating Russia would remove the incentive for minorities to learn Ukrainian.

Ukraine is home to the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet and surrounded by countries where Russian is often spoken. Russian is also the native language for about a quarter of Ukraine's 45 million citizens, according to the CIA World Handbook.

In signing the controversial bill while vacationing in the Crimea, Yanukovich, a native Russian speaker himself, also called for the establishment of a commission to promote the use of Ukrainian, the Interfax news agency reported.

The new law makes Russian an official language in 13 of Ukraine's 27 regions, and will allow officials there to make public speeches in Russian. Ukrainian and Russian are closely related Slavic languages and are generally understood by anyone educated during the Soviet era, when both were taught.

Russian ceased to be an official language after Ukraine declared its independence in 1991, after a coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev set the Communist-ruled, 15-republic Soviet Union on a course for disintegration.

"Yanukovich has managed to do everything that the Russian emperors and the Soviet general secretaries could not do," lamented opposition political strategist Oleg Medvedev, according to the Reuters news agency. "He has passed a death sentence on the Ukrainian language."

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Photo: Ukrainians poured into the streets of central Kiev on July 30 to protest passage of a law making Russian an official language in parts of Ukraine. President Viktor Yanukovich signed the bill  Wednesday, setting off new protests. Credit: Sergey Dolzhenko / European Pressphoto Agency

 

Ukrainian lawmakers come to blows over Russian language [Video]

A political debate over whether to enshrine Russian as an official language in much of Ukraine brought lawmakers to fisticuffs this week, playing on enduring divisions in the country over cultural identity.

The scuffle, caught on tape Thursday, was followed Friday by lawmakers blocking the podium to prevent the start of a parliament session. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside, and the spat even led the head of the Ukrainian parliament to call for dissolving the body and holding early elections, Ukrainian news reports said as the furor stretched into a second day.

The Russian tongue has been a sensitive subject in Ukraine sincein gained its independence just over two decades ago, said Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council. For some Ukrainians, the push to protect their language has become enmeshed with protecting the nation.

"It's like French in Quebec," said Blair Ruble, director of the Kennan Institute in Washington. "Can you be Quebecois and not speak French? It's the same sort of issues."

The hotly disputed language legislation has been seen as a political ploy by President Viktor Yanukovich to rally his base in eastern Ukraine, where Russian is more commonly spoken. Political support for his party has softened there as pensions have been cut. Elections are coming up this fall.

“Of course far-right and far-left are not satisfied with it, because some want Russian to be the one official language, the others Ukrainian. We think that Ukraine is a multi-language and polyethnic state,” Vadym Kolesnichenko, a member of the president’s party, told Euronews.

Opponents fear that giving the official nod to use of Russian in hospitals, schools and other official institutions, even in just some parts of the country, could hurt the Ukrainian language. Jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of power that is seen skeptically by many in the West, issued a blistering statement against it on her website.

“It’s a crime against history and against the people. And I seriously assert that I won’t let them do this! Listen to me, here, behind bars, I won’t let you sneer at Ukraine!” Tymoshenko said.

The bruising spectacle has put Ukraine in an unflattering spotlight once again. Already under fire from other Europeans for alleged mistreatment of Tymoshenko and scrambling to keep European leaders from boycotting the Euro 2012 soccer championship next month in Ukraine over her plight, the spat has grabbed headlines at a time when Ukraine had hoped to bask in the continental spotlight.

"Playing this card -- east versus west -- is not good for Ukraine," Wilson said. "Language is a serious issue in Ukraine. It merits a serious political discussion. But this isn't how you do it."

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Video: Violent scuffles erupted in Ukraine's parliament Thursday evening over a bill that would allow the use of the Russian language in courts, hospitals and other institutions in the Russian-speaking regions of the country. Credit: Associated Press

Russian town hosting Olympics learns English, one word at a time

The Russian resort town of Sochi is determined to learn English -- one word at a time.

Sochi, which is scheduled to host the Winter Olympics in two years, has reportedly embarked on a plan to teach its residents more than 600 words of English to help tourists visiting for the Games.

To do so, it will display a new English word and phrase every day, posted throughout the city in supermarkets, buses and played on the radio, Russian news reports said. The average Sochi resident is expected to run into their new English word five times in a day.

“Every resident of the city of Sochi will be able to greet guests, say kind words and give directions," Sochi education chief Olga Medvedeva was quoted in Kommersant.

The very first bit of English that people in Sochi learned this week? "Welcome."

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