Ukraine vs Hungary – the issue of language historical and political context
Ukraine vs Hungary – the issue of language historical and political context

Author(s): Maksym Stepanenko, Tamás Péter Baranyi
Subject(s): Comparative politics, Politics and Identity
Published by: МЦПД Міжнародний центр перспективних досліджень
Summary/Abstract: The issue with regard to the status of Ukrainian language has deep historical roots and is directly related to how it is used in modern political realities. For almost its entire history, Ukrainehas been under influence (or a part) of other states, knowing no independence: from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the incorporation of Ukraine into the Soviet Union. The vast majority of these states’ humanitarian policy, which at different times included Ukrainian lands, was aimed at assimilating the Ukrainian population. This was done most acutely and aggressively by Russian state authorities (being the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union). This led to the complete politicization of the language issue in Ukrainian society and the formation of Russian propaganda myths about both countries being “one nation”, “Ukraine is a younger brother of Russia”, etc. Additionally, there were even more radical theses introduced about the Ukrainian language not being self-sufficient, only existingas a form of a “South Russian dialect”. These claims are perceived as a national humiliation in Ukraine.

• Details
• Contents