Ukraine: Fighting Russia, fighting Russian

Russian is the first language of millions of Ukrainians, including many of the country’s frontline troops. But it’s also the language of their enemy. And its public use is increasingly restricted by law, with ever more measures to enforce communication in Ukrainian. Ukrainians are allowed to speak Russian in private conversations. But they can be fined for playing a Russian language song in the street, if the singer or composer is a Russian citizen. The state says Russian must be policed because Russia uses the language as a weapon to spread its influence. But in primarily Russian-speaking places such as Odesa, Ukraine’s third-largest city, many are unhappy about the language laws. One popular entertainer says they’re beyond Kafkaesque. Tim Whewell reports on the arguments dividing a city under constant Russian bombardment, as one side calls the Russian language a colonial hangover, while the other says cultural diversity is what Ukraine should be fighting for.

(Image: Comic actor Boris Barsky, of Odesa’s Russian-language Mask Theatre. Credit Tim Whewell)

Producer: Tim Whewell
Researcher/translator: Serhiy Solodko
Sound engineer: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman and Keshia Agyei
Editor: Penny Murphy