On August 8, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych signed the law “On the Foundations of State Language Policy”. According to him, in 13 regions of the country, the Russian language will be used in government institutions on a par with Ukrainian. The law was perceived by citizens very ambiguously.
According to the new bill, the free use of regional languages, which are considered native by at least 10% of the population, is guaranteed on the territory of Ukraine. The required number of Russian-speaking citizens turned out to be in 13 regions out of 27, including in Chernigov, Kharkov, Donetsk and Odessa regions, as well as in Kiev and Sevastopol.
According to the newly introduced law, acts of the highest bodies of state power must be adopted in the Ukrainian language, and then published in the state language, Russian and other regional languages. The Russian language in the regions that have adopted it will be studied in state and municipal educational institutions. It can be officially used by local authorities. It is also allowed to use the Russian language in any spheres of public life (city events, concerts).
In addition to expanding the influence of the Russian language, the law "On the Foundations of State Language Policy" strengthens the position of other languages of national minorities. Ukrainians are guaranteed free use of 16 more languages: Belarusian, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Armenian, Bulgarian, Crimean Tatar, Ruthenian, Yiddish, Gagauz, Polish, Modern Greek, Moldavian, Roma, Krymchak and Karaite.
The law on the new status of the Russian language has caused a flurry of protests in central and western Ukraine. The opposition is planning a series of open sessions where the decision on non-compliance with the language law will be considered. At the same time, the south and east of the country are supporting the innovation with demonstrations. The president himself created a working group that will have to develop a number of amendments to the law. Their consideration is scheduled for September 2012. The President also noted that the language issue in Ukraine is overly politicized.
