Anastasia, resident Kharkovworks as receptionist one of the main hotel chains Ukraine. like overwhelmingly of residents second city Slavic country, Russian her mother tongueAlthough he understands and speaks, Ukraine, yes, with the ease of fewer words. After the invasion launched a year ago by the powerful neighbor to the east, this young woman long black hair And bright eyes, Like many citizens, he decided to make important changes in his system. linguistic habits and day by day he tries to put it aside little by little. Russian languageseen as the language of the occupying power.
“I finally realized that with language comes other things,” he states, to justify that he now only uses Ukrainian with many of his friends, and even in front of guests who can express themselves in the language. Fyodor Dostoevsky, back to primitive english and with a strong accent. “It’s a matter of principle, Russia has always used language to control and manipulate us,” he continues.
His rejection of the culture in which he grew up is such that he fully embraces the view that increasingly in Ukrainian society there are classical Russian writers such as novelists. Leo Tolstoy or the poet Alexander Pushkin, in reality they are deceptive against imperialism and are the transmitters of the colonial ideology that the Kremlin resorted to to justify the invasion. “ greats of Russian literature It has helped shape, carry and take root around the world for Russian imperial and nationalist ideology,” he openly condemned. Volodymyr Yermolenkophilosopher and director of Ukraine World, an English-language website specializing in Slavic country, in a recent article in the journal Foreign policy.
Libraries and bookstores are undoubtedly the public sphere where this linguistic disparity between the two main republics that once formed the same State, the USSR, is most evident. Akvarel a famous stationery chain where are they sold school notebooks until your bookpassing pencils And children’s guides. And in the establishment, which the company operates in the Nikolski shopping center in the very center of the Russian-speaking capital of Ukraine, it is not only notable for the absence of books in the city’s majority language, but is not even identified. The literary production of bookshelves came from the east. In the history section, clever analysis And thick volumes The most you’ll find about the Soviet Union, common in any similar Muscovite establishment, are Ukrainian titles like “The Dictators’ Conspiracy: The Division of Europe Between Hitler and Stalin 1939-1941.”
no book
“We no longer buy books from Russia,” explains the marketer, who prefers not to be named. A law passed by the Rada in 2016, unicameral parliament of Ukraine, banned any unauthorized literary distribution from the neighboring country, while restricting the import of books from Russia. Last June, after the war broke out, he vetoed articles from Russia completely while also mandating prior monitoring of any Russian-language publications originating from Russia. Third World.
One of the reasons put forward by the President Vladimir Putin A year ago there was a need for defense to start the invasion of Ukraine. The presence of the Russian language in Ukraine. However, according to the data released after the start of the conflict, exactly what the Kremlin has accomplished. adverse effect. two-thirds Until recently, the proportion of Ukrainians who used both languages now declare their willingness to communicate only in Ukrainian, and even a third of those who only speak Russian declare their intention to change the language of communication.
This The complete disappearance of the Russians In Ukraine it may just be a matter a generation. Serhii Filimonov, A veteran Ukrainian military commander, who was once seen as a hero by many in the country and whose language of instruction was Russian, says he speaks “only” Ukrainian to his son. And that she protested when she heard him talking on the phone with his military colleagues. language of the occupying state.