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Language Debate Splits Ukraine
Source: Language Debate Splits Ukraine
In Ukraine, squeezed between Russia and the states of the Eastern Europe, the unfolding drama over the new language bill elevating the status of Russian has reignited age-old debates over culture, history, and even independence and identity.
"One part of Ukraine does care about the ideological question of identity, like language, religion, European integration, national statehood – that is the west of Ukraine," Serhiy Taran, director of the Kiev-based International Democracy Institute, said, adding that the east cares much stronger about social issues, such as the economy and social security.
The scenes broadcast around the world of rioting, swirling tear gas and soaring batons amidst crowds of protesters in Kiev earlier this week only reinforced the notion that language is a painful issue in Ukraine. Shortly after the bill was hurriedly rushed through parliament, hundreds of activists flocked downtown to protest what they see as an assault on the Ukrainian language, which is already eclipsed by the de facto use of Russian in much of Ukraine.
About 50 percent of Ukrainians speak Russian and 17 percent of the country's population is made up of ethnic Russians, according to the latest census figures. They have bemoaned the lack of official respect toward their own language, claiming that steady "Ukrainization," which has passed through different phases under various Ukrainian presidents, has been aimed at negating the historical ties between Russia and most of Ukraine.
Looks like some trouble is brewing up in Ukraine.As it emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union, some observers warned that the country faced the very real possibility of splitting along the border of the former Russian Empire– again, roughly east versus west. And Crimea, home to a predominantly Russian population, narrowly avoided a messy separation in the early 1990s. But after two decades, the impassioned debate over language and culture – and, indeed, independence – has instead remained just that.
Source: Language Debate Splits Ukraine