Ukrainians speak refined Russian, here it sounds like the language of freedom – historian Yaroslav Hrytsak

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Lviv Now talked to Yaroslav Hrytsak, a historian and professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University about the policies of Russian imperial governments towards the Ukrainian language in the past and Putin’s current lobbying for the status of Russian as one of the key points in talks between Ukraine and Russia.

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Interviewed by Roman Tyshchenko-Lamanskyi

How Russian governments destroyed the Ukrainian language

We are very simplistic in saying that the Russian-Ukrainian war is conducted against language and that the language issue is paramount. I emphasize that it was about something else. The fact is that Russia understands the importance of the Ukrainian issue – this is about its own existence. Without Ukraine, Russia cannot exist as a «great Russia». To do this, she uses various tools, language in particular.

However, this is not the only tool, not even the main one, because the primary tool is freedom. Ukraine aspires to freedom, it cannot do without it. Ukraine is a symbol of freedom. As Voltaire wrote, Ukrainians have always sought freedom. Instead, when Russians have a choice, they always choose what they think is a strong leader.

Of course, Russia used special means against language, because language is an important tool for spreading the national idea. Not the people’s, but the national idea. It was said that a nation is a people who want to have certain political rights. And to have their own political rights, people must have their own high culture. And this high culture must be preserved in their own language.

If you do not want the people to become a nation, ban the use of language in public. Please note that no one privately banned the language. It’s important that this language does not exist in public space, and therefore – in popular books.

Because if you look at the prohibitions, the government of the Russian empire has never banned Hegel’s translation into Ukrainian or libretto to the opera. What the Russian government has banned in Ukraine was publishing books for schools, rewriting the Scriptures, something that could be popular, accessible to the average reader.

It was said that the reader should not become nationally conscious. While the Ukrainian idea could be a niche and occupy 10-20 people in Kyiv, no one cared. If 10,000 or 10 million people spoke Ukrainian, then this would really become a problem. And that’s why it was a matter of reducing the Ukrainian to the status of a language for home use. Do not «let» it into public space. There was talk of enslaving these peoples, taking away their political rights.

It is not necessary to ukrainianize Ukraine: it is already ukrainianized

Russian-speaking Ukrainian immigrants should be accepted and assisted. What are we talking about when someone in need dies? Do we pay attention to what language he speaks? And especially, if he is your compatriot, when he runs away from the same enemy. For me, this is a shocking substitution of concepts. Serhii Loiko, who spent a lot of time fighting for the Donetsk airport, wrote a book «Airport» on this topic. For him, the war with Russia is the embodiment of the struggle between good and evil. He wrote that most Ukrainians there communicate with each other in Russian, and the commands are given in Russian. The difference is that Ukrainians speak more refined, cultured Russian. So, do the people who are dying in Mariupol now speak Chinese?

This is a kind of Galician complex – not just to help, but to help in my own way, given my conditions. There must be no such conditions, people are in trouble. And if people are in trouble, they need help. We need to be patient even if, for instance, they have their own problems or complexes, because they came from the war. They are emotionally exhausted, they are very agitated.

Read also: «A ‘Putin’ is impossible in Ukraine, and ‘victorious Maidan’ is impossible in Russia»: defining modern Ukraine

We, Galicians, must become more mature in this sense, because Ivan Franko also said that we are not Galicians, not Bukovinians – we are Ukrainians. With all due respect to Galicia, because it makes a huge contribution to Ukraine, its past, present and future. This is a huge exclusive area. But our Galicianness is that we always think not about our greatness, but about Ukraine.

I had a similar conversation at the university administration. We talked about the need to develop business in Ukraine now, and someone very «clever» said that it must be ukrainianized. This is not the priority. The war continues, and business must be done in spite of everything, not that it’s only Ukrainian-speaking.

This is a substitution of concepts, and I am strongly fighting against it. Because our task is not to ukrainianize Ukraine, it is already ukrainianized. Our task is to modernize Ukraine. And every time we start modernizing, we talk about language. We are not talking about that, we are taking a step aside. A huge step.

Neither the Maidan was monolingual, nor do fighters in the East speak the same language. I watch our television. See what language people speak when talking about the situation in Odesa, Kherson or Mariupol. But aren’t they Ukrainians?

The war for Ukraine is a war for the future of the world, for the territory of freedom

The difference between Ukrainians and Russians is that Ukrainians are fighting for freedom, for their existence.

Instead, freedom is impossible in Russia. Ukrainian is the language of freedom, but Russian in Ukraine also sounds like that. Russian in Russia sounds like Putin’s language, and in Ukraine, it often sounds like the language of freedom.

The difference lies in political traditions. We are politically different. Putin or Lukashenko is impossible here, and they would never have Maidan. This is a fundamental difference. We do not want strong power, sacred power is impossible in Ukraine. It would be impossible if we have Putin whom we will look at and consider almost God. Ukrainians always have a normal attitude to power. Ukrainians do not suffer from high-value complexes like Russians. The high-value complex generates the inferiority complex. The Russians see that they are failing compared to what is happening in the West, both politically and economically. Russia is, in fact, a weak country, a secondary, tertiary country. Ukrainians want their life to be the same as in the West, while Russians don’t. They consider themselves a separate civilization, and for them, the normal laws are unwritten. It sounds trite and a little pathetic, but it’s true. The war for Ukraine is more than the war for Ukraine. This is a war for the future of the world. For the territory of freedom.

Why Putin is lobbying for the status of the Russian language in the negotiations

We mustn’t discuss with Putin at his level. At his level, he will always win. It’s like the famous saying that you can’t play chess with a pigeon, because it will turn your pieces over, defecate on the board, and then pretend to win.

In order to win, we have to play at higher levels than Putin. He tries to play a very humiliating game. And the language in this game is not a reason, but an excuse.

Our strength will be in something else – in a strong army, a strong state, an independent judiciary. This is what will make us strong, and what Russia cannot afford even close.

Language is a weapon. Without a doubt, a weapon. But we do not make it the main weapon, because when we do it, we follow in Putin’s footsteps. And in this war for language, we will not win. This will distract us from the main goal.

Let’s talk about language after we win. We will discuss language and history for a very long time. Our children and grandchildren will probably still do this. But I want them to discuss in a rich and strong state.

Roman Tyshchenko-Lamanskyi

Translated by Vitalii Holich

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