Turning the pages back... July 2, 2000 (07/02/06)

Turning the pages back...

July 2, 2000

It was six years ago that The Ukrainian Weekly carried an article on Lviv's initiatives to limit the use of the Russian language. On June 19-20, 2000, the Lviv Oblast Council and the Lviv City Council issued separate resolutions to limit the use of the Russian language in the region. They were the first of such resolutions in Ukraine that explicitly banned the use of Russian in public places and came at a time when the national government had begun to pay more attention to the language issue.

The directive made mandatory the use of the Ukrainian language on all business documents, including blanks, forms and receipts. Specifically, it referred to Ukrainian usage in public catering, trade, transport and public recreation. Additionally, the resolution reduced the cost of obtaining a license for businesses manufacturing and selling Ukrainian-language video, audio and printed products to 1 percent of the standard fee.

A day prior, the Lviv City Council placed a moratorium on the broadcasting and playing of Russian-language songs on the streets and squares, and on public transportation.

The resolutions came from political pressure by right-wing organizations such as the Republican Party, the Social Nationalist Party and the Ukrainian National Assembly/Ukrainian National Self-Defense. Also pushing the legislation forward was the public outcry after the fatal beating of Ukrainian composer and singer Ihor Bilozir a month earlier.

Ukraine had a difficult time encouraging publication of Ukrainian-language printed matter and audio-video materials. The country's economic problems left publishing houses and manufacturing outlets with a lack of financing. Politicians and businessmen were reluctant to move away from the Russian language with which they are more comfortable.

At the time the article appeared, the Cabinet of Ministers in Ukraine was finalizing a document that would give those who publish in the Ukrainian language tax privileges over those who published in other languages.

Source: "Lviv city and oblast resolutions limit use of Russian language" The Ukrainian Weekly, July 2, 2000, Vol. LXVII, No. 27.

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