Ukraine and the War of Languages

The Russian invasion to Ukraine has been the main topic in the International Media. This is something that really touches me as my father’s family is Ukrainian. But my concern is not only my relatives in Ukraine, but many people I know who are there. To see a place where my family used to dwell and I visited one day, suffering shelling from a foreign army, is something that makes me sad.

But among all the news and articles reporting and analyzing the invasion, I found one written in Catalan by Miquel Cabal Guarro: Ucraïna : guerra de llengües (Ukraine: War of Languages). Although the article speaks very briefly about the language problem in Ukraine, highlights the role of languages in this conflict.

Both languages, Russian and Ukrainian have been the main protagonists in the linguistic history of Ukraine. During the Russian empire, Russian was the main language and the sole language in the public administration and schools. The part of Ukraine under the Austro-Hungarian empire (Western Ukraine mainly) had the opportunity to use Ukrainian officially. After the Russian revolution and under Soviet rule, Russian was still the main vehicular language in use, while the situation of Ukrainian changed through different policies, from moments when it was used widely till some other when it was banned. Ukrainian became official in 1989 and was confirmed as the sole official language in 1996. 

In 2012, a law was passed granting local authorities the power to confer official status to minority languages, provided that at least 10% of local residents are native speakers, while holding Ukrainian as the main official language of the country. It was supported by Ukrainian pro-Russia political parties while Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Western parties opposed it. This law was rescinded In 2014. A few days later, Crimea was annexed by Russia and the war in Donbass started.

On Jan 16^th a new law was implemented where all print media outlets in Ukraine are required to publish in Ukrainian. Those who publish in minority languages need to publish the same content in Ukrainian (EU official languages are exempt, but interestingly not Russian language). 

The linguistic situation of Ukraine is very complex as well. Last numbers show that 53% of the population of this country uses Ukrainian at home, while 29% speak in Russian. The rest of the population use a mix of both languages or a third language. 73% of the population consider Ukrainian as their mother tongue. Most of the population favours policies that make Ukrainian the main language of the media. 

We know that there are areas where Ukrainian is predominantly spoken, mostly in the west. Areas like Crimea and Donbass use mainly Russian. Cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv used to be Russian-speaking areas, but now, the use of Ukrainian is growing. The situation is less clear in other parts of the country, although there is a tendency to speak more in Ukrainian. The use of a mix of Russian and Ukrainian known as Surzhyk is very common. 

But the reaction of Ukrainians to the invasion confirms something that some reports were already stating: native language in Ukraine does not define loyalty. Most of Russian- speaking Ukrainians who know little or not Ukrainian, are not supporting this war and see Russian army as an invader. Many of them also supported policies favourable to the use of Ukrainian in the state and society. Current president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is a good example. He is a native Russian speaker, who learned Ukrainian during his school days, but still he has supported some pro-Ukrainian language policies.

In my opinion, nothing can justify a military operation like this one conducted by Russia over Ukraine. There are complex issues between both countries and probably they will not be solved in the short term, but a war can just make things much worse.

When languages are used as a valid reason to start a war, there are actually interests in other issues, probably so obscure that they need to conceal them. Russia claims that they are defending the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine, who are subjected to discrimination. I read some reports describing cases of discrimination against Ukrainian speakers in Donbass. It is possible that in a country with more than 48 million inhabitants, we can find some cases of discrimination, but the reaction of Ukrainians, including those who are Russian speakers, shows that they do not feel liberated by the Russian army but invaded and attacked by a foreign army. I have contact with people in Ukraine who only speak Russian and I can see their reaction to this conflict. Confirming anything that happens in Donbass is much more difficult.

One of the point that catches my attention is that when there are discussions about Crimea on social media, most of the conversations are about the situation of the majority Russian- speakers living there, and if they feel better now under Russian rule or not. But no one is talking about the situation of the indigenous people of Crimea, the Crimean Tatars. Do they feel safer now under Russian rule or do they prefer to live in Ukraine? I met here some ethnic Crimean Tatars and they see themselves as citizens of Ukraine. Does anyone remember Jamala, a Ukrainian singer who won the Eurovision song contest in 2016 representing Ukraine? She is an ethnic Crimean Tatar.

In summary, what I have described here are some key points in history when languages have been part of the conflict that today affects the land of my ancestors. I am writing only about languages, specially Russian and Ukrainian, which are the protagonists of this story. What I write here is far from being the full story, which is much more complex, and I doubt it can be explained in few minutes.

One of the main victims of a war is truth itself. If we try to find out what is going on between Russia and Ukraine, very likely we would be bombarded by tons of pieces of propaganda and biased information.

My wish is the ceasefire between both parts, the withdrawal of Russian troops and peace. In a peaceful environment will be easier to find a fair solution to all conflicts.