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In a recent article in Le Monde, a changeover phenomenon, described as an act of resistance, was highlighted: since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainians have decided to drop Russian language classes that are too closely associated with the war and its crimes, and take Ukrainian classes instead.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the Ukrainian population spoke both languages without this being considered a problem. “In 2014, the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbass marked a first break: part of the population switched to Ukrainian out of patriotism, but it remained marginal,” points out Le Monde. Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian nation has been consolidated, leading to a break with Russia, and in particular with its language. Whereas Russian was considered prestigious and Ukrainian a rather “extinct” langiage that was also considered a rural dialect, the trend has now been reversed, with the official language regaining its lustre. At school, for example, lessons are given exclusively in Ukrainian.
In February 2022, the Yedyni (language club) movement was set up to help those wishing to learn or improve their Ukrainian. Le Monde immersed itself in a class in Kiev, and took a look at the reasons why participants wanted to give up Russian. One explains: “I always spoke Russian before the invasion. But since the Russians say they came here to save the Russian speakers, I decided to switch to Ukrainian. That way, I won’t let them have that excuse anymore.” Another continues: “I’m from Bakhmut. I want to get rid of Russian. Alas, in Kiev, I still hear a lot of people speaking it, it depresses me!”.
Further on in the discussion, a 47-year-old man doesn’t mince his words, recounting the extent to which Russian now makes him have a physical rejection: “When I hear Russian spoken today, it makes me want to vomit, it’s physiological.” He adds, with anger in his voice: “I grew up in a totally Russian-speaking environment. But since Russia considers all those who speak Russian to be Russians, then f… them f…..! I choose my side, not that of these barbarians.”
For a large part of Ukrainian people, there will come a time when no one will speak Russian on their territory. Le Monde, in its article, quotes Ivanna Arestanova, the language club’s teacher, and highlights her less clear-cut opinion. “Everything depends on how this war ends,” she says. “History is always written by the winner. If Ukraine is defeated, history could once again be written in Russian…”
