Language row is shaking Ukraine
The European Cup is over and Ukraine is back to its usual shenanigans. Observing the topless Femen activists around the soccer final must've been a pretty fascinating sight (NSFW) for the many foreign tourists, granted, but I doubt many of them even knew what was it all about. "It's just boobs, c'mon!", an Italian fan responded when I tugged at their shoulder to ask what was going on. Duh... fuck'n Italians.
Now that I'm far away from Kiev, I hear there's been some other kind of rally over there. This time no boobs involved, sorry to disappoint. Just a group of guys in neat suits dashing up the steps of Parliament (Verkhovna Rada, as it's called in Ukraine). They must've attracted lots of stares too, because they were well known MPs, members of the opposition against the ruling Party of the Regions of president Viktor Yanukovich. They had just learned that a new law was being voted inside, behind their backs and without their knowledge. A law that they believe is designed to undermine the very foundation of statehood in Ukraine. Despite the exchanged fists and kicks in the Rada that've become such a regular sight, the law was still passed. And this will prompt a huge political crisis in Ukraine. Why?
Because the law is meant to raise the status of Russian as a regional language for 13 out of the country's 27 regions. Sounds nice? Well, it means that Russian can now be used officially in the administration of those regions, and possibly trump Ukrainian altogether.
Despite the concerns of the opposition that the law is dangerous for the integrity of the state, it was supported by 248 MPs, whereas the required minimum was 226. The draft version was passed last month, and back then the opposition was assured it'd be amended before the second and final vote. But to their shock, on Tuesday the speaker of the Rada put it to vote outright, and found the opposition totally unprepared.
One MP from the Party of Regions was even heard saying, "Experience the beauty of the game: we handled them as kittens". His extreme cynicism was one of the reasons for the sharp reaction from the Ukrainian society.
First the opposition MPs organized a protest camping in front of the parliament. Then they were joined by several hundred citizens. Even the world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko joined the protest (he's chairman of the opposition party "Strike"). The area of the protest was instantly blocked by special forces and the police went into confrontation with the crowd, 10 policemen being injured, and tear gas being used against the protesters. Klitschko himself was teargasssed and injured.
Yesterday morning the speaker of the Rada, Vladimir Litvin resigned. His confession was pretty telling: "Yesterday, when we voted the law about language policy, we lied to our people. Given these circumstances I would like to put the question about my resignation on the agenda". Litvin believes the procedure for the voting of this law had been carefully planned so that the opposition would be left in the dark about the proceedings, and the Ukraininan people could be tricked. And they were. Very nicely played indeed.
Still, with his last throes as speaker of the Rada, Litvin managed to block the immediate adoption of the law, by calling a meeting between parliament and the president, and it lasted until the late hours yesterday. The text is yet to be signed by president Yanukovich. At least he still has the courtesy to promise that if this crisis is not resolved through consensus, he'll have to call emergency elections.
The deputy speaker of the Rada (who's from the party of the arrested, and probably tortured, former prime minister Yulia "Gas Princess" Tymoshenko, whose treatment made all European leaders to boycott the Ukrainian half of the Euro Cup matches this summer), has also resigned. "I can't be part of the ruling body of such a parliament. This is unacceptable for me", he said and flounced. He explained how the whole vote had been totally rigged - turns out even his own MP card had been used by somebody else to double-vote with it, although he himself denies this.
Rumors are that all the haste with voting on this law is related to the negotiations between Yanukovich and Putin in the legendary resort Yalta, last month. And this is all a nice gift for the Russian "friend". The previous president Yushchenko who was the leader of the Orange revolution alongside Tymoshenko, would've never let this happen.
Litvin's resignation is particularly intriguing, and there could be several explanations for it. The now former speaker of the Rada was a loyal ally to Yanukovich for a long time, and his resignation is a loud and clear signal for the deep crisis among the ranks of power. By leaving the scene, Litvin could rest assured that in a future parliament, if the opposition manages to gain some positions, he'll again occupy a high post. Meanwhile, he expects to be re-elected MP on the next election, and that, in a region dominated by an Ukrainian ethnic majority (in the western half of the country). And the changed status of the Russian language might've undermined his chances for re-election if he had supported it.
His deputy speaker also compares this law to the bargaining in 2010, when in exchange for discounts on the gas prices from Russia, Ukraine extended the contract of the Russian military navy at Sevastopol, the base in Crimea on the Black Sea. There were protests among the populace against this, but Russia was allowed to retain its presence there. And this time the language law was voted after another set of bargaining and negotiations, again in Crimea, and again the gas prices being the central topic there. Coincidence? I think not. Let's not forget the winter crisis from a few years ago, when Russia suddenly stopped all gas supplies down their pipes, and Ukraine was left to freeze for almost a month, along with half of Europe. Yes, energy resources could be a really powerful tool for geopolitical blackmail and arm-twisting, as most of Eastern and Central Europe might've already noticed.
The sharp reaction from the Ukrainian society is similar to that in other former Soviet republics like Latvia and Estonia, where the same old problem keeps rearing its head: a large Russian minority remaining as a legacy from Soviet times and the Stalin-inspired policy of systematic relocation of Russians across the Soviet Union; now those Russians trying to assert their position in society, mostly through pushing the language issue and demanding that Russian be granted an equal status with the respective local languages (so those countries could become bilingual). Such a demand was already rejected on a referendum in Latvia earlier this year, which caused huge drama. And now this.
Things are even more complicated in Ukraine, as the above map suggestes. It's a country that's roughly split in half along the language divide. The rural, agricultural West being Ukrainian-speaking, while the industrialized, dynamic East (plus Crimea) being Russian. The West's main resource is democracy. The East's is... well, all the resources. But now, even in landlocked West Ukraine where the moods are extremely anti-Russian, there's still a 10% Russian population, who have claims that Russian is their mother tongue, and should be recognized. If Russian gets the status of a regional language, then Ukrainian would inevitably be dropped from use in the Russian-dominated regions, and most elements of statehood would cease to be Ukrainian. This would practically split the country into two countries, a process that has already begun, and is gaining momentum. It is probably irreversible at this point.
Ultimately, there will come a day when the Russians in Eastern and Southern Ukraine (Crimea) would demand a referendum that would finally kick Ukrainian out of the equation altogether. And then there would be nothing that could hold this country together.
Now that I'm far away from Kiev, I hear there's been some other kind of rally over there. This time no boobs involved, sorry to disappoint. Just a group of guys in neat suits dashing up the steps of Parliament (Verkhovna Rada, as it's called in Ukraine). They must've attracted lots of stares too, because they were well known MPs, members of the opposition against the ruling Party of the Regions of president Viktor Yanukovich. They had just learned that a new law was being voted inside, behind their backs and without their knowledge. A law that they believe is designed to undermine the very foundation of statehood in Ukraine. Despite the exchanged fists and kicks in the Rada that've become such a regular sight, the law was still passed. And this will prompt a huge political crisis in Ukraine. Why?
Because the law is meant to raise the status of Russian as a regional language for 13 out of the country's 27 regions. Sounds nice? Well, it means that Russian can now be used officially in the administration of those regions, and possibly trump Ukrainian altogether.
Despite the concerns of the opposition that the law is dangerous for the integrity of the state, it was supported by 248 MPs, whereas the required minimum was 226. The draft version was passed last month, and back then the opposition was assured it'd be amended before the second and final vote. But to their shock, on Tuesday the speaker of the Rada put it to vote outright, and found the opposition totally unprepared.
One MP from the Party of Regions was even heard saying, "Experience the beauty of the game: we handled them as kittens". His extreme cynicism was one of the reasons for the sharp reaction from the Ukrainian society.
First the opposition MPs organized a protest camping in front of the parliament. Then they were joined by several hundred citizens. Even the world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko joined the protest (he's chairman of the opposition party "Strike"). The area of the protest was instantly blocked by special forces and the police went into confrontation with the crowd, 10 policemen being injured, and tear gas being used against the protesters. Klitschko himself was teargasssed and injured.
Yesterday morning the speaker of the Rada, Vladimir Litvin resigned. His confession was pretty telling: "Yesterday, when we voted the law about language policy, we lied to our people. Given these circumstances I would like to put the question about my resignation on the agenda". Litvin believes the procedure for the voting of this law had been carefully planned so that the opposition would be left in the dark about the proceedings, and the Ukraininan people could be tricked. And they were. Very nicely played indeed.
Still, with his last throes as speaker of the Rada, Litvin managed to block the immediate adoption of the law, by calling a meeting between parliament and the president, and it lasted until the late hours yesterday. The text is yet to be signed by president Yanukovich. At least he still has the courtesy to promise that if this crisis is not resolved through consensus, he'll have to call emergency elections.
The deputy speaker of the Rada (who's from the party of the arrested, and probably tortured, former prime minister Yulia "Gas Princess" Tymoshenko, whose treatment made all European leaders to boycott the Ukrainian half of the Euro Cup matches this summer), has also resigned. "I can't be part of the ruling body of such a parliament. This is unacceptable for me", he said and flounced. He explained how the whole vote had been totally rigged - turns out even his own MP card had been used by somebody else to double-vote with it, although he himself denies this.
Rumors are that all the haste with voting on this law is related to the negotiations between Yanukovich and Putin in the legendary resort Yalta, last month. And this is all a nice gift for the Russian "friend". The previous president Yushchenko who was the leader of the Orange revolution alongside Tymoshenko, would've never let this happen.
Litvin's resignation is particularly intriguing, and there could be several explanations for it. The now former speaker of the Rada was a loyal ally to Yanukovich for a long time, and his resignation is a loud and clear signal for the deep crisis among the ranks of power. By leaving the scene, Litvin could rest assured that in a future parliament, if the opposition manages to gain some positions, he'll again occupy a high post. Meanwhile, he expects to be re-elected MP on the next election, and that, in a region dominated by an Ukrainian ethnic majority (in the western half of the country). And the changed status of the Russian language might've undermined his chances for re-election if he had supported it.
His deputy speaker also compares this law to the bargaining in 2010, when in exchange for discounts on the gas prices from Russia, Ukraine extended the contract of the Russian military navy at Sevastopol, the base in Crimea on the Black Sea. There were protests among the populace against this, but Russia was allowed to retain its presence there. And this time the language law was voted after another set of bargaining and negotiations, again in Crimea, and again the gas prices being the central topic there. Coincidence? I think not. Let's not forget the winter crisis from a few years ago, when Russia suddenly stopped all gas supplies down their pipes, and Ukraine was left to freeze for almost a month, along with half of Europe. Yes, energy resources could be a really powerful tool for geopolitical blackmail and arm-twisting, as most of Eastern and Central Europe might've already noticed.
The sharp reaction from the Ukrainian society is similar to that in other former Soviet republics like Latvia and Estonia, where the same old problem keeps rearing its head: a large Russian minority remaining as a legacy from Soviet times and the Stalin-inspired policy of systematic relocation of Russians across the Soviet Union; now those Russians trying to assert their position in society, mostly through pushing the language issue and demanding that Russian be granted an equal status with the respective local languages (so those countries could become bilingual). Such a demand was already rejected on a referendum in Latvia earlier this year, which caused huge drama. And now this.
Things are even more complicated in Ukraine, as the above map suggestes. It's a country that's roughly split in half along the language divide. The rural, agricultural West being Ukrainian-speaking, while the industrialized, dynamic East (plus Crimea) being Russian. The West's main resource is democracy. The East's is... well, all the resources. But now, even in landlocked West Ukraine where the moods are extremely anti-Russian, there's still a 10% Russian population, who have claims that Russian is their mother tongue, and should be recognized. If Russian gets the status of a regional language, then Ukrainian would inevitably be dropped from use in the Russian-dominated regions, and most elements of statehood would cease to be Ukrainian. This would practically split the country into two countries, a process that has already begun, and is gaining momentum. It is probably irreversible at this point.
Ultimately, there will come a day when the Russians in Eastern and Southern Ukraine (Crimea) would demand a referendum that would finally kick Ukrainian out of the equation altogether. And then there would be nothing that could hold this country together.