Four Language Laws of Ukraine. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON MINORITY AND GROUP RIGHTS 23: (4) pp. 560-582. (2016) (original) (raw)

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukrainian nation building was aided by the system of institutions inherited from the USSR (relatively clearly marked inner and outer borders, a parliament, ministries, representation in the UN etc.), but, at the same time, made difficult by the Russian community living in Ukraine, which became a minority overnight. The presence of the sizeable Russian community has been felt primarily in the Ukrainian–Russian language struggles. Some researchers and the specialists of international organizations have repeatedly pointed out that the question of languages is heavily politicized in Ukraine, and the fact that it is not clearly settled can lead to the emergence of language ideologies as well as to conflicts of ethnic groups and languages. It is no coincidence that the Law on National Security regards, in Article 6, the settling of the language issue as a priority among the country’s national interests. The aim of the present paper through the comparative analysis of four linguistic rights documents, We will show how the Ukrainian political elite attempted to maintain, between 1989 and 2014, the social equilibrium through introducing legislation aimed to regulate language use.

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