Russia speaks out in defense of compatriots (07/23/00)

Russia speaks out in defense of compatriots

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Russia's ambassador to Ukraine issued a warning to Kyiv on July 17 that Moscow will not tolerate discrimination against Russians in Ukraine, which he said includes all people who speak the Russian language.

"Russia will use all means at its disposal to protect the rights of its compatriots," said Ambassador Ivan Aboimov. He added, however, that Moscow would utilize only peaceful methods and abide by all laws and international norms while doing so.

Mr. Aboimov's statements were provoked by what the Russian government feels is an inadequate response by Kyiv over resolutions passed by the Lviv Oblast and city governments recently that place limitations on the use of the Russian language there.

Mr. Aboimov said he was discouraged by the failure of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond to a June 7 diplomatic note issued from Moscow regarding a new Russian foreign policy directive on the defense of the rights of Russian minorities in foreign countries.

The diplomatic note from Moscow arrived in Kyiv days after the death of noted Ukrainian composer Ihor Bilozir provoked violence in Lviv. The latest Russian diplomatic pronouncement on the issue is a response to two local Lviv government resolutions, passed as a result of the Bilozir incident, which limit the use of the Russian language in the day-to-day business operations of merchants in the oblast and in radio broadcasts in the city.

Mr. Bilozir was murdered by two men in an altercation that followed an argument in a Lviv city cafe over the singing of Ukrainian songs by the composer and his friends. The two men wanted to listen to Russian pop songs being played over the café's radio.

In the days after his death and funeral, sporadic acts of violence by groups of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, which were overblown in the Russian press, have led Moscow to allege that a wave of anti-Russian sentiment is gripping Ukraine.

Mr. Aboimov blamed the Lviv oblast and city governments for creating conditions for "an unbridled anti-Russian and anti-Russian language campaign," and said that they were succumbing to pressure from radical political groups in the region.

He said that Moscow was particularly concerned about a directive that allows for the creation of detachments of monitoring groups to enforce the city council's resolution, and explained that Kyiv's lack of official reaction could be construed by some as government tolerance for an anti-Russian campaign.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Mr. Aboimov's assertions a day later when First Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Oleksander Maidannyk told the Russian chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, Aleksei Sazonov, that Kyiv "resolutely refutes the allegations" of the Russian ambassador that it is encouraging anti-Russian sentiments in the country.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in which it called "inadmissible" Russia's speculations on the "so-called protection of the Russian language and culture in Ukraine." It went on to state that some Russian media and politicians have distorted the facts surrounding recent events in Lviv.

During a press conference the same day, Mr. Maidannyk said that the situation in Lviv, after a limited number of violent incidents, had returned to normal. He said that Russian periodicals and literature continue to be openly sold, and that cable television stations continue to transmit Russia's major channels to the region.

In Lviv, meanwhile, the press service of the Lviv Oblast State Administration issued a statement in which it labeled the allegations made by Mr. Aboimov as "falsifications," according to Interfax-Ukraine.

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