What a Difference 66 Years Makes

Imagine the mid-1950s in Kyiv, Ukraine. Some 10 years after the end of World War II. Most of the inhabitants of the capital of Ukraine by far actually spoke the native, national language. Usage of the language of the oppressor was in the minority.

According to the publication Ukrainian People of June 2020, Kyivites demonstrated a high degree of national pride in their language of choice. The editors came across this significant fact of Ukrainian life in previously classified research prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency on September 28, 1954.

“About 80% of the inhabitants of Kyiv use Ukrainian in their conversations. The other 20% use Russian or one of the other languages common to the USSR. Political subjects are never discussed with strangers on a train or elsewhere,” the CIA concluded.

The Kremlin couldn’t tolerate this pro-Ukrainian situation in its biggest captive nation. In 66 years, Moscow saw to it that the tables were turned to overwhelming favor Russian not only in Kyiv but also across the country. Repression, arrests, imprisonment, threats, deprecation, favoritism, resettlement and even murder significantly reduced the number of people in Kyiv who spoke or dared to speak the native language.

That’s why the new law on Ukrainian language usage adopted by the Verkhovna Rada is supremely important for preserving the Ukrainian nation, which cannot exist without its national language, the embodiment of what it means to be a Ukrainian.

Prof. Larysa Masenko of the National University of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, in the current edition of The Ukrainian Quarterly, correctly observes “In Ukraine, with a population of almost 40 million, the demographic power of the Ukrainian language, which is determined by the number of native speakers, should be equal to the power of the Polish language in Poland. However, the language situation in Ukraine is significantly different from the Polish one. The reason for this is the significant level of Russification and Sovietization of the mass consciousness of the Ukrainian people, realized during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire in both its forms – autocratic/tsarist and Communist.”

All segments of Ukraine – government, churches, hierarchs and clergy, educators, industry, media, civil society and people – must take active and proactive steps to preserve the Ukrainian language as the official, national, state language of Ukraine. This law and behavior don’t forbid or denigrate other languages or cultures. Speak Polish, Russian, Yiddish/Hebrew, etc., but also speak Ukrainian because by solely focusing on Russian, you support the persecutor of all non-Russians.

How is it in the United States and Canada? English is the language of both countries but other languages are not forbidden. They are even encouraged. Ukrainians in both countries may speak the language of their heritage. Russia is not so magnanimous to encourage Ukrainian language usage in Moscow.

One major negative pro-Russian influence on the people’s choice of language is contemporary slang. Ukrainian language usage, especially among youth – even the young people who were born in independent Ukraine – is polluted by Russian slang that has no basis in the Ukrainian culture and heritage. Pro-Ukrainian creativity is needed to overcome this trend.

Masenko also suggests: “The success of the film industry was especially impressive. In five years, the film market has been filled with a variety of Ukrainian films that have brought talented directors, screenwriters, cameramen and actors out of the shadows. National film production turned out to be quite competitive, our films began to win awards at prestigious international festivals.

“The popularization of historical events, national heroes, folk traditions, the reproduction in films of modern events from their own, Ukrainian point of view contributed to increasing the prestige of the Ukrainian language and had a positive impact on the language situation. Groups of young people who speak Ukrainian to each other are already appearing in Kyiv, and more and more Russian-speaking Kyivans are willing to switch to it in communication with its speakers.”

Now the fight for the Ukrainian language continues on the streets where it must also prevail.