On September 25, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a new law on education. The law, which is to be implemented gradually from September 2018 until September 2020, had been approved by parliament in early September, but the draft was changed at the last moment. The language provisions contained in the law make it controversial both inside Ukraine and in neighboring states, as it envisages that all secondary education will be taught in Ukrainian.
Beyond the language issue, the law lays the groundwork for a comprehensive school reform, including an extension of school education from 11 to 12 years and changes in the overall teaching program. It is presented as an attempt to align Ukraine’s school system more closely with European standards. The language controversy, however, has sidelined the discussion about the need for education reform more generally.
Instruction in minority languages at kindergarten and primary school level remains unaffected by the law. At secondary level, however, national minority languages are now being reduced to special lessons. One reason is that Ukrainian politicians and experts have underlined the importance of making the next generation of individuals belonging to national minorities competitive for the Ukraine-wide job market. The discussion so far has been focused on Hungarians, Romanians, Russians, and other minorities. However, the political undercurrent of the wider project is obvious: to further strengthen the status of the Ukrainian language vis-à-vis Russian. Here the law on education follows on from a law signed by the president in June, which increases the mandatory share of Ukrainian-language content on national and regional television, and precedes the as yet pending language law.
Language issues are often misunderstood by outside observers of Ukraine. Instead of clear-cut ethnolinguistic lines, everyday life in southeastern Ukraine is characterized by the use of both Russian and Ukrainian. Bilingualism, or the coexistence of both languages, is the norm. In view of this, successive Ukrainian presidents and governments since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 have been prudent to adopt a more incremental approach to “Ukrainization.”
At the time of the last Ukrainian census in 2001, fewer than 30 percent declared Russian their native language, a figure that has decreased over time. “Native language” is, above all, an identity marker rather than a measure of language use. In surveys that also allow for the dual category “Russian and Ukrainian,” which is closer to the reality of many in Ukraine, “Russian” was chosen by about 22 percent in 2014, and 13 percent in 2017, while the mixed category has remained fairly stable around 17 to 18 percent.
While Russia’s criticism of the law did not come as a surprise, the speed and harshness with which parliaments, governments, journalists, and analysts in Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, and Moldova reacted had not been anticipated in Ukraine.
Romanian government officials see themselves as speaking on behalf of the approximately 150,000 Romanians and 250,000 Moldovans living in Ukraine. The Romanian parliament’s declaration criticizing the law includes a warning that Ukraine cannot progress on its way toward EU integration without demonstrating respect for national minorities. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis even cancelled a trip to Ukraine before the law was signed. The response from Budapest was even more explicit. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó openly threatened Ukraine by saying that Hungary would not support Kyiv’s attempt at further EU integration if the law is implemented. About 150,000 Hungarians live in Zakarpattya Oblast in western Ukraine.
The Russian State Duma and Federation Council adopted a resolution on September 27, condemning the law as infringing upon the rights of the Russophones in Ukraine. Interestingly, Russia is not disputing the labeling of Russians or Russophones in Ukraine as a “national minority” anymore. Instead, Moscow’s key objective is to tarnish Ukraine’s image in Europe as a country unwilling to adhere to the union’s values and norms.
Critics call upon the UN, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe to bring the law in line with international standards. The protection of national minorities is ultimately a sovereignty issue and varies considerably across the EU, despite the fact that the principle is part of the EU conditionality for membership and enshrined in EU law. While the Ukrainian law does not contradict EU law per se and is not an exception when compared to EU member state practice, it nevertheless goes against the spirit of the minority protection principle enshrined in international and European conventions.
Given Ukraine’s current state of affairs, it can hardly be in Kyiv’s interest to alienate a number of EU member states when the country needs their support for its ongoing difficult reform process and attempts at conflict-resolution. Further escalation of Ukraine-Russia relations can also only limit the scope for conflict-resolution. Rather than taking these political risks, endorsing bilingualism in education and public life more generally would be the inspired and progressive option for the Ukrainian leadership to choose. This does not preclude an obligation for pupils and students to become fluent in the state language alongside their national language. By adopting such an approach, Ukraine would stand a better chance of defusing political tensions within and vis-à-vis its neighbors, and it could also set an example for many EU member states. What better way for Ukraine to prove its “European” credentials?
Gwendolyn Sasse is a non-resident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and the director of the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin.
Comments(49)
Too late! You showed us your true colors and we do not like what we are seeing. I don't think we should ever allow you in the EU, even if you change this law. You will probably only revert back to your extreme nationalist ways as soon as you will become a member. Not to mention the billions of Euros that we will have to spend every year on you, given that EU average GDP/capita is currently about 15 times Ukraine's average.
True colors Joe? Where are the Ukrainian language schools in these protesting countries? Ukrainians form some large minorities. Why the double standard? What is nationalistic (in the negative sense that you imply) in requiring the teaching of a state language?
To Mariana: How can Russia order the "Ukrainians" from Ukraine to attend Ukrainian schools? A large part of them is Russian-speaking. Another part is Ukrainian-speaking but despises Ukrainian as a rural stuff that will not bring them anything useful. Millions of people DON'T NEED YOUR UKRAINIAN. Go to the immigrant Ukrainian Saturday schools in Canada. Almost all teachers there are Russian-speaking. And many children are there not to study Ukrainian, but to give their immigrant parents an extra opportunity to lick Diaspora asses and squeeze something useful like reference to find a better job and connections. All those newcomer's mothers keep track where Diaspora parents work, whom they know, whom they are connected with and how to please somebody to squeeze at least something from them. And those parents from Western Ukraine are not very different. They are 30 minutes late or even an hour late to school at least to hear minimum Ukrainian. But it is a good chance to hook somebody, manipulate him or her and squueze some useful connections. Stop raping the whole world with the Ukrainian language. WE DON'T NEED IT!!!
Hungarians and Romanians each comprise less than 1% of the total Ukrainian population. There is no industrialized nation on Earth that can offer government funded education from grades 1 -12 for so many different minorities – including many beyond the two mentioned. The cost is just too prohibitive. The bluster being exhibited by Hungarian and Romanian heads of state is for internal political consumption. In the end, they will not be able to hinder Ukraine’s Euro-integration. For Ukrainian to finally have the chance of becoming the true state language, all it’s citizens must be fluent in the language. That is not currently the case in Ukraine where many minorities, and even ethnic Ukrainians struggle to speak their own native language. The Russian language was forced upon the population during Imperial Russian era and then the problem became acute under the Soviets. Ukrainians are simply adjusting their linguistic education to better reflect that of other industrialized nations. Keep in mind that there are thousands of Russian language schools in Ukraine but absolutely no Ukrainian language schools in Russia and Hungary with only a handful in Romania. By ensuring that Ukraine’s minorities are fluent in the state language of the country, they will ensure that these people are fully integrated into the national economy and work force. The same is true for all industrialized nations.
Ukrainians in Romania make up less than 1% of population, and they do get exactly that.
In comparison to Ukranians in Hungary they have Ukranian classes, but Ukranian migration emerged only after the dissolution of SU. But Hungarians live in the Western Ukraine before Ukranian formation in particular region. Ukranians are the one of the biggest minorieis in Russia, but they have no particular region of settlment, in comparison to Donbass and Crimea. Historical context has to be considered otherwise we face the conflicts.
"Ukrainians are simply adjusting their linguistic education..." Correction: not "Ukrainians", but "all citizens of Ukraine regardless of ethnicity". Not "adjusting", but "are being forced to adjust". Not to "their linguistic education", but to "the language imposed on them by the government of Ukrainian nationalists". So the full sentence goes like this: "All citizens of Ukraine regardless of their ethnicity are being forced to adjust to the language imposed on them by the government of Ukrainian nationalists."
No. Ukraine is a multilingual country and should not have just one official language. South Africa, for example, has no less than 11. Hungarians found themselves in a new country when the borders were shifted. They and Romanians, in addition to Tartars, Germans, Ruthenians and others are autochtonoous and have a right to their language. On what basis should Ukrainian be the one official language? That said, they should, of course, learn the language.
"Ukraine’s Poorly Timed Education Law" A nazi law is a nazi law, no matter how it is "timed". Half of the population of Ukraine speaks Russian at home. Kiev regime which can to power through the nationalist and anti-constitutional coup is now applying policies of forcible ukrainization.
Andrey Kuleshov = one of the most prolific Russian Internet Trolls. He's alway writing about Ukrainian "nazis" and "coups in kiev" and other silly stuff. Putin must pay him well.
Are you familiar with Godwin's Law, Mr. Kuleshov? One of its corollaries is that the first person to mention Hitler or the Nazis in an on-line argument automatically loses. That would be you, sir. Although typically such outlandish posts are undeserving of a reply, let's look at this idea of "forcible Ukrainization" in a historical context. In the 337 years Ukraine was under foreign rule prior to independence in 1991, there have been 60 prohibitions on the Ukrainian language. These have included everything from trying to replace the Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet to closing Ukrainian schools to forbidding Ukrainian churches from using Ukrainian liturgy to banning Ukrainian theatre, music, and literature. It should come as no surprise that Russia/USSR is the most egregious culprit in attempting to eradicate the Ukrainian language. Ukraine's neighbors have been attempting to destroy the language for centuries. Is it any wonder the Ukrainian people are defensive about preserving it? Yet, even so, today in Ukraine no one is outlawing the Latin alphabet, telling children they can't continue to learn other languages, or banning foreign language books or other art-forms. Children may continue to be educated in a foreign language until Grade 5, at tax payer expense I might add, and after that as well, if their parents chose to send them to private schools. The language of Ukraine is Ukrainian. It is as ridiculous to speak of the Ukrainization of Ukraine as to say the Germans are Germanizing Germany or the Italians Italianizing Italy. The only people who talk that way are Russian expansionists who dream of bringing the nations that have broken from their rule back under their oppressive and dictatorial thumb.
silly post
What a bunch of bull! If someone wants to educate their kids in a minority language they are welcome to pay for a private school. Why should taxpayers pay for education in a foreign language? Why should the society bear the costs of students educated in minority languages who will become useless unemployed should they decided to stay in Ukraine? Why should we sacrifice future of our children for a doubtful improvement in relationship with Russia, a hostile, undercollapsed post-soviet authoritarian rogue-state? I don't see any European values in any of this
Those members of historical minorities are also taxpayers. Or is there as special law in Ukraine that exempts them? So you are saying that their taxpayer money should be used for their own asimilation?
Tell this to Quebecois in Canada. Or to French-speaking Swiss citizens. Or to Dutch-speaking citizens of Belgium. You are making a laughing matter of yourself saying that nations populating countries have not right for national and cultural development in their own language.
earlier comment by Jenny does not apply to Glen. His post is excellent, insightful, and convincing
The language of Ukrain is Ukrainian. Russian is the language of the colonizer responsible for the deaths of millions of Ukrainians. Instruction at all levels of education should be in Ukrainian only with minority language instruction optional. And please stop talking about conflict resolution with Russia. It is a non-starter. Russia is only interested in destroying Ukraine as a viable independent state and forcing them back under Moscow's boot heel. As to SE Ukraine speaking Russian and Ukrainian, most Ukrainians speak both because of the history as a colony of Moscow.
These people are citizens of Ukraine and live these when there was no such country as Ukraine. The borders were changed. They have right to get such education, especially if they have had it till now
"Tell this to Quebecois in Canada. Or to French-speaking Swiss citizens. Or to Dutch-speaking citizens of Belgium" Canada = officially a bilingual country from the time it was created in 1867 so the French have constitutional right to schooling in their language. The Ukrainian immigrants to Quebec, send their children to private Ukrainian schools on Saturday and to public French schools from Monday to Friday. They all master the English language on their own and for the most part are perfectly trilingual (English, French and Ukrainian). The government only pays for the English and French schooling and Ukrainian schooling is private. Belgium is also a nation founded with two official languages: Flemish and French. Citizens in that nation have the right to free schooling in either language. Ethnic Ukrainians living there learn Ukrainian in private Ukrainian school. Switzerland is a nation which was found with 4 official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh (very very few). Ukrainians living there must learn Ukrainian in private Ukrainian schools. UKRAINE IS A COUNTRY FOUNDED IN 1991 WITH ONE OFFICIAL STATE LANGUAGE: UKRAINIAN. Citizens who want to learn other languages will have to do so with their own funding after grade 5. If they study in another language they will have to nonetheless be proficient in Ukrainian to attend University or other higher education institutions. ENGLISH WILL SOON BECOME THE SECOND LANGUAGE OF UKRAINE AND IT WILL RECEIVE GOVERNMENT FUNDING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. RUSSOPHONE UKRAINIANS AND THE MAJORITY OF ETHNIC RUSSIANS IN UKRAINE ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THIS NEW EDUCATIONAL MANDATE.
Excellent comment in Blog Fodder
One question. Why majority of native Ukrainians became bilingual with 4 hours of Russian classes per week. An native hungarians are failing to get basic knowledge of Ukrainian understanding with same amount of classes?
Excellent comment Glen--insightful, historically accurate. Do not quite understand post by Taras
Unclear argument. Comment on Glen--earlier remark "silly post" not directed at you
According your logic education law in Slovakia is not aligned with general europoan approach as well. I don't remember demarsh from Hungarian government about this law from 2004. And Hungarian minority in Slovakia is much bigger than in Ukraine. As in absolute value as well as related to general population of Slovakil republic § 4 Ciele výchovy a vzdelávania Cieľom výchovy a vzdelávania je umožniť dieťaťu alebo žiakovi a) získať vzdelanie podľa tohto zákona, b) získať kompetencie, a to najmä v oblasti komunikačných schopností, ústnych spôsobilostí a písomných spôsobilostí, využívania informačno-komunikačných technológií, komunikácie v štátnom jazyku, materinskom jazyku a cudzom jazyku, matematickej gramotnosti, a kompetencie v oblasti technických prírodných vied a technológií, k celoživotnému učeniu, sociálne kompetencie a občianske kompetencie, podnikateľské schopnosti a kultúrne kompetencie, c) ovládať anglický jazyk a aspoň jeden ďalší cudzí jazyk a vedieť ich používať,
I do not understand why protesting countries are so determined to hold Ukraine to standards which they themselves do not respect. Large Ukrainian minorities in ALL of these countries should have the same right that are being demanded by countries with minorities in Ukraine. But these do not Exist! Once again--why the double standard?
Iren--your comment is ridiculous. Ukraine has existed as. A country for nearly 2,000 years. Kyivan Rus was a protoukrainian bation since 9th century. The fact that Ukrains has been occupied by many of the countries protesting the new law does NOT erase the fact that Ukraines was an occupied COUNTRY. Study some history and stop making a fool of yourself. Ukraine was founded by protoukrainians unlike let us say Canada, founded by two countries so is rightfully bi-lingual. After centuries of multiple occupations ukraine is now a sovereign country with the sam right as other sovereign countries throughout the world to have its public and educational systems conducted in the native language. Minority settlements are generously protected.one more thing, those eastern heavily rusisified territories are products of a colonizing Russia which never gave the Ukrainian language the same protection that Russians receive in Ukraine. As for changing the alphabet to Latinize it, what protection would that offer against countries such as Poland that does use that alphabet. Or. Against Romania with its own "nazi-oriented" responders like Joe? There are so many of them!
Ukrainian citizens who moved to Russia, Hungary, etc are happy that there is no Ukrainian stuff around them and they don't need it! I am living in Canada. I teach Ukrainian when I am paid colourful Canadian dollars but I am very envious to those who forgot Ukrainian in immigration. My friend was the winner of the competition in her city for the knowledge of Ukrainian in 1980s. She moved to Israel and she forgot Ukrainian after she learned Hebrew. I am envious. Honestly, I am so envious. I don't want to remember Ukrainian language. Torture your own family with this dialect of the village, don't bother other people.
The only solution for the Ukrainians is to change the letters of their ukrainian alphabet to latine letters. This will cut their dependence and ties with Russia and bring them back to Europe.
Believe it or not - there are many Ukrainian nationalists who have suggested this very idea but would this really help ? The Moldovans, a Romanian speaking peoples were forced to change their alphabet from Latin to Cyrillic when absorbed by the Russian Empire. Nonetheless, they remain more Romanian oriented than Russian after centuries of Russian domination. Why is it that other Europeans who use the Latin alphabet (pretty much everyone else) can now get along including the French, British, Germans, Italians, Poles, Romanians etc....
Maria--my advice to you is "move to Israel and be as happy as your friend, although I fear your lack of knowledge about anything would be a handicap in a sophisticated country as is Israel!"
Ridiculous suggestion Dab=. That would only complicate the situation
Russian is the preferred language for at least half of Ukraine. Yes, West hopes to brainwash our children against Russia, but it will fail. You will never be able to Ukrainize so many people. Ukrainize your own children somewhere in Brussel. Stop raping millions of Russian-speaking children in Ukraine.
Sorry you feel this way, but Ukrainian universities have been teaching in Ukrainian for a while and the mandatory SAT-equivalent test for high-school students is also in Ukrainian. Kids who studied in Russian in grade school have a tremendous handicap. I agree that eastern Ukrainians will get a shorter end of the stick, but in the end they will come out better compared to if they attended a Russian grade school and then tried to enter a Ukrainian university. Also, Ukrainian tertiary education rewards English very much, which means kids need to come out with much better mastery of English than their parents were required to. Studying in three languages is much harder than two. Besides non-academic Russian language for most Ukrainians is about 3000 Russian words mixed with Ukrainian words to make up their 'surzhik' dialect. I remember long before the war (~year 2008) I traveled slowly by train from Russia to Ukraine and I noticed heavy surzhik dialect even in border villages in Kharkiv region. It was easy for me to compare and contrast because I was traveling from St. Petersburg where they reportedly speak "pure" Russian. Also written Russian is much more difficult to master due it's grammatical complexity. It requires many more school-hours to teach Russian than Ukrainian, which is a quite simple language.
As with all of your ignorant remarks Maria--you have no idea what you are talking about. Russian dominates only in the limited eastern territories of Ukraine that were so heavily colonized by Russians. Spoken Ukrainian is now the preferred language of 67% of the population (at last count) and growing. Non Ukrainians might prefer to speak Russian and that is their right BUt they do not have the right to demand state-sponsored schools to be taught in minority languages. Those must be privately sponsored. Should you ever be so fortunate as to learn this sophisticated Ukrainian language you would know that but I am afraid that with your closed mind this will not happen. I repeat, your obvious ignorance is your own loss, no one else's. This is my final comment. You do not deserve even that.
Ukrainian is the language of 67.5% of the Ukrainian people. Russian is the language of 29.6% of the population and the remaining 2.9% are native speakers of another language. The outrageous use of hyperbolic language such as "the rape of millions Russian-speaking children" is a clear sign of Putin's campaign of propaganda against Ukraine. Other examples include stories that every family in Lviv owns two Russian slaves and Ukrainian soldiers crucify Russian boys. My favorite is the story that Ukrainians regularly eat a small winter bird with red, blue, and white plumage as a way to disrespect the Russian flag. It is difficult to believe people believe these incredible falsehoods, but I guess if you tell a lie enough times someone will believe it. Especially Russians, who have never had a free press in their entire history.
Of course, Ukrainian is the official language in Ukraine. Very soon Ukraine will consist only from villages around Lviv and Ternopil. The rest of territories will escape. And those villages will be empty, because their dwellers have already immigrated to Poland, Canada, USA, etc. Good luck with Ukrainization.
ridiculous comment
Maria--your characterization of the Ukrainian language as a village dialect shows that this is precisely where you belong with your retrograde thinking--down on a farm without access to education-- Ukrainian is a sophisticated language representing a high culture and anyone with even a limited knowledge of it would never make such an ignorant assessment. I don't know what kind of "Ukrainian" you learned (you could not possibly have read it) but it is clearly something so crude and vulgar that it does not represent that beautiful language in any way. Such a pity--you have no idea what you are missing.
MARIA = Russian Internet Troll She pretending to be a Ukrainian living in Canada or something like that. Don't believe it. Her rhetoric is pure 100% Russian Internet Troll stuff.
The subtext of this entire controversy, never mentioned in the western press, is that the real reason for this trumped up language controversy is the desire on the part of both Russia and Hungary to see the dismemberment of Ukraine for their own expansionist goals. Hungarian irridentist goals are focused on breaking away the Zakarpattia Oblast for annexation into Greater Hungary. Hungarian language cultural organizations and political parties in Ukraine are financed from Budapest. Russian propaganda also sows discontent among the Hungarian speaking population of Ukraine. One thing upon which Putin and his Russian political opponents agree is Russian expansion into Ukraine. The Russian invasion of Dunbass and illegal annexation of Crimea are just the first steps toward the eventual dismemberment of Ukraine. The language issue is just an excuse to attack Ukraine. After all, neither Russia nor Hungary offer the Ukrainian minorities in their countries the same rights they are insisting Ukraine offer the Russian and Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
Excellent points Glenn
Excellent comment Glen Anderson. along with your others. I could not have said it better. Lucid, rational, and convincing
which bi-lingual component aside from Ukrainian? So many "minority" claims
Iren: If you choose to cite history this is a Tatar homeland.
Currently 60.1% of Ukrainian students educated in Hungarian and Romanian language schools fail their Ukrainian language exam. This not only prevents their integration into Ukrainian society, but is also a bar to their acceptance into university. Not surprisingly, Ukrainian universities require Ukrainian students to demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking Ukrainian. In this respect they are no different than universities in nearly every nation in the world. Allowing students to be educated solely in a foreign language not only divides and Balkanizes the nation, it forever condemns these students to second-class citizenship and keeps them from successfully entering the Ukrainian job market. Under the new law, students studying in a minority language may continue to do so up until Grade 5, in public schools, at tax payer expense. They may also continue to receive instruction in whatever foreign tongue they wish, at home and through private lessons. No one is keeping anyone from learning or continuing to use other languages. The phasing in of this system will happen gradually. Compare this to the countries making the loudest objections to Ukraine's new education reforms. There are currently 8,000 Ukrainians living in Hungary. Hungary says it recognizes Ukrainian as a minority language, but there is not one school in the entire nation offering instruction in Ukrainian. Romania has approximately 50,000 Ukrainians, yet no elementary or 8-year schools where they can learn in their native language. Russia, not surprisingly, is the most hypocritical nation in their jingoistic complaints about Ukraine's language law. There are official nearly two million Ukrainians living in Russia (unofficially the number is closer to 10 million) and not a single school where children are allowed to learn in Ukrainian. Given these facts it is difficult to believe this interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine by foreign governments is little more than an attempt to sow discord and eventually break up the country by its neighbors, especially Hungary and Russia, for their own expansionist aims.
Insightful and convincing, supported by Ukrainian history over the centuries
Superbly argued Glen
Response to Berlioz (by the way, I loved your Symphonie fantastique, especially the 5th movement): I would say that first off, how many official languages Ukraine should or should not have is a decision entirely up to Ukrainians. Not Romanians, Hungarians, and certainly not Russians. On what basis should Ukraine have one official language in which their classes are to be conducted, you ask? I have three answers to that, but first let's be clear that Ukraine is not outlawing any language, as foreign invaders have done in the past with the Ukrainian language. People are free to speak any language they wish, write and publish books and newspapers in the language of their choice, and even open private schools, conducted in any language whatsoever, and families are free to send their children to those school, if they so wish. Also, public schools will continue to offer instruction in languages other than Ukrainian through the 4th form. Ukraine is simply doing what is done in Russia, Hungary, and most other nations of the world; stating that Ukrainian children will learn their lessons in the Ukrainian language. Why is this important? 1) All Ukrainian students must pass an entrance example to get into university, which includes a test demonstrating proficiency in Ukrainian. Students who attend schools where subjects are taught in a language other than Ukrainian have a significantly higher failure rate on these exams. It is not fair to create a permanent underclass of Ukrainians who do not have access to university, jobs, and political life by denying them instruction in the language of their country. 2) Ukrainian is not a major world language. If Ukraine became a bilingual country there would be no incentive for people to learn Ukrainian and within a few generations the language would die out or become a historical relic. Language is the gateway to culture. Already many Russians do not recognize Ukraine as a separate independent country and see Ukrainian culture as merely an extension of their own. They refer to Ukraine as Malorosiia - Little Russia. If the Ukrainian language is allowed to die out this would only exacerbate the problem. Which brings me to my third reason. 3) Virtually every Russia politician and political party, whether they support or oppose Putin, is in favor of Ukraine returning to Russian control, either through outright annexation, or simply bringing Ukraine back into the Russian sphere of influence. However, when they talk about this there is always a caveat. Ukraine will one day rejoin Russia, EXCEPT for Lviv and the Galician west. Why is that? Because even the most arrogant Russian expansionists know that it would be impossible to incorporate the pro-Ukrainian, patriotic, Ukrainian-speaking west into Russia. Swallowing Lviv would be swallowing a poison pill for Russia. Which is why Ukrainian speaking Lviv is a lesson for the preservation and survival of the rest of Ukraine. If all Ukraine adopted the Galician model, within two generations Russian would be forced to realize they will never be able to subjugate Ukraine. For reasons of practicality, preservation of the language, and national survival, Ukraine must be a Ukrainian speaking nation in which Ukrainian is the primary, day-to-day language of all its people.
The best comment along with all your others on the subject by someone who knows this history and is and excellent interpreter of factual evidence
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