Russian in Ukraine

2012: The bill of language policy is signed by the President

The Party of Regions was engaged in language reform in the run-up to the parliamentary elections appointed to fall of 2012. Earlier the president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych promised to achieve for Russian in Ukraine state (but not regional) the status. It was one of its election pledges, however it was not executed^[1].

The bill offered by representatives of ruling party of regions (Vadim Kolesnichenko and Sergey Kivalov) "About bases of the state language policy", creates conditions for increase in the status of non-state languages in Ukraine (first of all - Russian). According to the document, Russian will receive the status regional in those areas where it is native at least for ten percent of the population (i.e. approximately in half of the Ukrainian regions).

Regional language (it belongs also to Crimean Tatar, Romanian, Hungarian, Gagauz and to other languages) can be used in legal proceedings, education, work of authorities and other spheres on an equal basis with state.

The opposition opposed this bill, having seen in it threat for Ukrainian provision.

• At the beginning of June, 2012 the bill was adopted in the first reading. Discussion was followed by a large-scale fight in parliament. Later the opposition as Editor-in-chief notes, tried to block further review of the document, having made to it more than two thousand amendments.

With respect thereto it was supposed that deputies will not manage to accept in the following reading it prior to the beginning of a parliamentary recess. The speaker of Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn said on July 2 that current week (the last week of a current parliamentary session) the bill will not be considered. However Alexander Efremov who directs fraction of ruling party of regions, reported that the document nevertheless can be brought up for vote in the next few days.

• On July 3, 2012 the Verkhovna Rada accepted the document in the second reading. The document was supported by 248 deputies (from 450). The end of a meeting on which the bill was adopted was marked by a fight.

As Ukrainian Pravda notes, vote took place the first minutes of a meeting. Before it, according to the edition, those from deputies of PR which usually participate in fights took places in a government box.

Attempts of oppositional deputies to break vote failed. "They [representatives of parliamentary majority] made it with violation of regulations, placed the enforcers, and adopted [bill] in the second reading in edition of the first reading", - the representative of the NUNS oppositional fraction Lilia Grigorovich said.

After the document was accepted, the meeting was closed. The speaker Litvin, as noted, in the hall was absent. The meeting was conducted by his deputy, the representative of the Communist Party Adam Martynyuk.

The UNIAN reports that a fight in parliament began after the bill was included in the agenda. "As the opposition broke microphones, was not heard that the first vice speaker Adam Martynyuk presiding over a meeting puts to the vote", - notes the agency. On this background the document was also accepted (accepted it in edition of the first reading - i.e. without the arrived amendments).

The representative of the Party of Regions Mikhail Chechetov, commenting on the event, said: "Estimate beauty of a game. We parted them as kittens. I do not know what they will do on elections".

• On July 30, 2012 Rada rejected four drafts of the resolutions on canceling of adoption of law entered by oppositional deputies from fractions "Our Ukraine-national Self-defense" and BYuT - Batkivshchyna.

• On July 31, 2012 the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Lytvyn signed the law on fundamentals of language policy which assumes providing the status to Russian regional in those areas of the country where the Russian-speaking population makes at least 10 percent. The document is sent to a statement to the president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych^[2].

• At the beginning of August the president Yanukovych signed the law.

In Odessa Russian is given the status of regional

On August 13, 2012 it became known that in Odessa Russian is officially given the status of regional. Such solution as report "The Ukrainian news", the city council adopted at an extraordinary session. 73 deputies from 120^[3] voted for it^[3]. This solution is based on the law "About Bases of the State Language Policy".

During discussion in the City Council the deputy Alexey Kosmin referred to results of the last census. "More than 10 percent of the population which to the family consider Russian live in Odessa", - he noted. In turn, the mayor Alexey Kostusev said that nearly 90 percent of inhabitants of Odessa consider more comfortable communication in Russian.

The regional status provides, in particular, that texts of the decisions made by the City Council should be published including in Russian (and not just in Ukrainian). Russian can be also used in office-work, at communication and correspondence of citizens with authorities.

The regional status also provides use of Russian (along with state) in plates and pointers. As for the promotional products placed in the territory of the city, it can be both in Russian, and in Ukrainian (at the request of the advertiser).

The local edition "Думская.net" reports that for the period of the session the municipality building at Dumskaya Square was protected with tourniquets. There security measures were strengthened. However, as noted, protest actions near municipality were not: the meeting of nationalists from a batch Freedom took place in other place - at the building of regional administration (the edition believes that activists were mistaken the address).

Let's remind that in the past (still when the post of the president of Ukraine was held by Viktor Yushchenko) in a number of the cities local authorities gave to Russian the regional status. However the prosecutor's office strove for later cancellation of these solutions in courts.

the Regional status in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions

On July 17, 2012 it became known that in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions of Ukraine Russian received the regional status. The relevant decisions as report "The Ukrainian news", were accepted by regional councils.

At meetings on August 17 deputies voted for that in the territory of these regions recently adopted law "About Bases of the State Language Policy" was implemented.

The agency notes that in Dnipropetrovsk near the building of a regional council the picket of opponents of the law took place. About 50 people took part in it.

Total number of the Ukrainian regions which supported the law on language policy thus grew to six. Russian received earlier official status in the Odessa, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Luhansk regions. Similar decisions were made also by deputies of some city councils - in particular, the City Council of Sevastopol.

Notes