Either my way or the highway.
Vladimir Kornilov, Zatulin’s franchisee in Ukraine, doesn’t mince words.
Kornilov: Of course, sooner or later we'll have to put this reality into law as well. At any rate, sooner or later there will be two official languages in Ukraine, or there will be no state of Ukraine in these borders.
1tv.com.ua is becoming an affiliate of www.1tv.ru.
If you’re a post-Soviet-born Ukrainian who lives in Ukraine, you better learn Russian. Why? Because the Russians, Russified Ukrainians and some other people who have lived in Ukraine for generations don’t want to learn Ukrainian. Fair enough?
Take the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTCU). Neither its president, Yevhen Benkendorf, nor its vice president, Walid Harfouch, speaks Ukrainian.
Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk does speak Ukrainian, and God knows how much he hates it. In a bid to preserve the legacy of Russification, he wants to stop mandatory dubbing of foreign language movies into Ukrainian.
He has already revoked mandatory Ukrainian language exams for students completing their bachelor degrees. He says it’s the European way.
Well, the French would disagree, and so would some Germans.
Back to Ukraine, the list of reforms goes on:
No more Institute of National Security Problems
No more National Institute of International Security
No more interministerial NATO membership preparations сcommission
No more Euro-Atlantic integration center
No more rallies without arrests
Congratulations Rick Davis, Paul Manafort, Phil Griffin and the Appeasement Institute in Ukraine! You’ve just won your magic Pobeda ride!
Buckle up, Uncle Sam!
Misspell one letter and you have signing that sound like peeing.
It happened at the Medvedev-Yanukovych press conference, dubbed in Russian and Ukrainian. Instead of saying підписують (pidpysuyut: Ukr. are signing), the announcer uttered підпісують (pidpisuyut: broken Ukr. are peeing on something).
Russian version: The President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, from the Russian side, and the President of Ukraine, Viktor Fiodorovich Yanukovich, from the Ukrainian side, are signing a joint statement.
Ukrainian version: The President of the Russian Federation, Dmytro Anatoliyovych Medvedev, from the Russian side, and the President of Ukraine, Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych, from the Ukrainian side, are peeing on a joint statement.
I was invited to [visit] Brussels on March 1 and I was invited to visit Russia on March 5. It couldn't have been done otherwise. The first days of the president's work are always difficult in terms of where to go, and I'm gaining experience. But as they used to say, “All pathways lead to Moscow.”
That’s what Putin told Obama as the two enjoyed Russian cuisine at a lunch in Moscow. Putin had quoted that number before, when demanding that NATO stay away from Ukraine.
The only problem is, it’s 17% percent of Ukraine’s population — not 17 million people — who are ethnic Russians.
Of course, the percentage of Ukrainian citizens who speak Russian only or surzhyk is higher, due to the Soviet policy of Russification and its lingering legacy. But these people are not ethnic Russians. Likewise, just because I speak idiomatic English, it doesn’t mean I'm British, Canadian, Australian or American.
I wonder if Obama swallowed Putin’s quote. Getting a sense of Putin’s soul can be fraught with fraud.
Sources:
http://lenta.ru/news/2009/07/07/obama/
http://www.dawn.com/2008/04/05/int4.htm
Say YES to the Referendum!
Question 1 (check-marked): Do you agree that the official languages in Ukraine should be Ukrainian and Russian?
Which Language Is Second to None in Donbas?
When asked whether making Russian a second official language will hurt Ukrainian speakers, Viktor Yanukovych stated:
Абсолютно ні. Ось психологія людини така, я ж знаю, я народився, жив, виріс у Донбасі. Якщо до тих людей буде шанобливе ставлення і до мови, якою вони говорять, я вам скажу, піде прогрес. Піде процес у бік української мови, і ситуація змінюватиметься на краще".
"Потрібно вчити. Ось внук у мене вільно розмовляє українською. Сини - один краще, другий гірше, ну, вони не вивчали українську мову. Але прищеплювати у людей ненависть до російської мови? Я вважаю, що це неправильно".
Absolutely not. It’s how the mind works, I know this, for I was born and grew up in Donbas. If these people are treated with respect, including the language they speak, then I’ll tell you there will be progress. The process will move in favor of the Ukrainian language, and things will change for the better.
We should study it. Now, my grandson has full command of Ukrainian. As for my sons, one is more fluent and the other is less fluent; well, they didn’t study the language. But should one inculcate people with hatred toward Russian? I think it’s wrong.
