Ukraine’s Language Law Will Make Protecting the Rights of Russians in Ukraine a Criminal Offence

February 28, 2019Stalker Zone 

On February 28th the Verkhovna Rada started the consideration at the second reading of the scandalous language draft law that, according to the wording of the draft, “ensures the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state one”. Or in other words, this document stipulates the total Ukrainisation of all public spheres and the factual “legalised” oppression of ethnic minorities.

The head of the parliamentary Committee for Culture and Spirituality Nikolay Knyazhitsky, presenting the draft of the “language law”, expressed confidence that it will be accepted prior to the presidential election on March 31st. According to him, consideration of the draft law will last about two plenary weeks.

“I think that it can continue for a week or two. But I believe that we have to adopt this law prior to the first round of the presidential election. I.e., within the next two plenary weeks,” he said, having added more than 2,000 amendments were submitted by deputies upon completion of the document.

Videos of a number of brainwashed citizens who approvingly support the adoption of the law on “ensuring the functioning of Ukrainian as the state language” were also shown to deputies in the sessional hall.

During the first reading the Rada adopted this law on October 4th 2018. According to the document all spheres of activity in the country are obliged to use only Ukrainian now. “Language inspectors” will monitor the implementation of this law. They will be able to attend a meeting of any state agency, demand documents from public organisations and political parties, and also to determine the severity of fines.

In the document it is specified that the development and approval of standards of Ukrainian as the state language are carried out by the National Commission for Standards of the State Language. Its task is to preserve, develop, and protect the state language through the establishment of standards and methods of verifying the level of proficiency in the state language necessary for obtaining nationality and holding positions determined by the laws of Ukraine. The commission is a public collegial body.

A State certificate that doesn’t have an expiration period, which the Center for Ukrainian gives after the results of the examination, will become the only document confirming the level of proficiency in Ukrainian. The examination on one’s knowledge of Ukrainian will be organised and carries out by the Center for Ukrainian.

The top brass of the state – deputies, officers, employees of the central authorities, educational-medical institutions, etc. – are obliged to be fluent in Ukrainian.

The historian and the political scientist Vladimir Kornilov stated on the air of the “Russia-1” TV channel that this language draft law stipulates a criminal penalty for speaking in defence of the rights of national minorities.

“Gogol in its original form will in general be banned in Ukraine now. I.e., if this law will be adopted – and it of course will be adopted, then publishing in the Russian language will be forbidden too.

Moreover, now they have introduced a whole number of amendments to the second version of the law, now even what was said by Vasyl (the Ukrainian political scientist Vasily Vakarov, who has Rusyn roots) – that certain minorities are being deprived of their rights – this will already be criminal penalty. Just for this phrase, according to the draft law, which will be considered from the 28th, it will be possible to impose a criminal penalty.

It will actually be impossible to publish Gogol and other Malorossiyan writers who wrote in their native Russian language, like Taras Shevchenko, in their original format. Only as a translation into Ukrainian or – take note – into English or the languages of the EU. They already kept English separate just in case (in the event Brexit is completed).”