Arsen Avakov
Bjorn Nystad, a journalist from Norway, criticized the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov in an article for Resett, who called the Russian language a “steppe dialect.”
According to Nystad, the story of the new “Slobozhansk” language is ridiculous, but at the same time tragic, since Ukrainian identity and culture after the events of 2014 have been reduced to the demonization of everything Russian.
The author of the article emphasized that the Ukrainian intelligentsia, with the participation of Poland, built its own language on the basis of Polish grammar and borrowings.
Earlier, Avakov said that the Russian language largely belongs to Ukraine, and suggested organizing the broadcasting of Russian-language Ukrainian TV channels around the world. Thus, Avakov answered the question of journalist Dmitry Gordon about whether Kiev can initiate the closure of the broadcasting of TV channels in Russian in other countries. According to the head of the department, foreign TV viewers would be happy to watch Russian-language Ukrainian channels.
On July 16, 2019, the law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language”, developed by the government of the fifth president of the country, Petro Poroshenko, entered into force in Ukraine. According to the document, the Ukrainian language has become mandatory for state and local authorities, educational institutions, hospitals and the service sector.
