Question

Lavrov: Russian is banned in Ukraine, while Arabic is allowed in Israel and Hebrew in Arab states and Iran.

Außenminister Lawrow kritisierte, dass Russisch in der Ukraine verboten sei, während Arabisch in Israel und Hebräisch in arabischen Ländern sowie im Iran erlaubt sei.

#UNGA80

Answer 1

The statement that Lavrov made about "Russian being banned in Ukraine" is false and untrue. It was tricky one to decipher though. This claim could stem from the law passed in 2019 that made Ukrainian the official language of Ukraine in response to Russian aggression and previous attempts to suppress Ukrainian culture and history. After the more recent 2022 invasion however there was "restrictions on the state language of the aggressor state.” "Interfax-Ukraine" a Ukrainian news agency reported on these said restrictions. Stating that "Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Olena Ivanovska, commenting on this petition at the signature collection stage, stated that the distribution of Russian-language book products in wartime is a challenge to cultural security, but a ban on distribution would violate the Constitution of Ukraine."  

From this we can conclude 2 things, there was a restriction on Russian distribution and promotion of  Russian language books in Ukraine. To go more in depth on this the restriction would also limit the import of Russian language books in Ukraine to no more the 1 unit per person. The 2nd thing coming from the latter half of the statement, a ban on distribution (of the Russian language) would be unconstitutional. Meaning that they are still upholding their belief in the constitution to allow the Russian language to not only be permitted but intertwined with their pop-culture. 

As for the vocal part, the Minority Rights Group reports that it is allowed to speak Russian freely within private life.  "Ukraine’s Constitution guarantees the free use of Russian and other minority languages....the Law on National Minorities (Communities). It reflects on the expanded compulsory usage of Ukrainian in the public sphere already affected by previous legislation, by introducing rules on using minority languages in ‘communication with authorities". The minority spread of language is around 34% speak Russian and 19% speak both Russian and Ukrainian. This law was not strictly for the Russian language to not be spoken as there are many different ethnic groups within Ukraine, but as a barrier against "foreign" language being spoken while "in communication with authorities".

As a whole this claim is extremely misleading, the Russian language is not banned within Ukraine, it is still widely used and pretty common within pop-culture and daily life.

 

Answer 2

This claim is fake, it us used to justify and bring attention to the actions Russia’s political enimeies take againt them. A claim that has been repeatedly made in 2022 is that Russian is “banned” in Ukraine to make an excuse for the invasions and attacks. The idea of this “minority language” is being used as a power play. (scourse:https://minorityrights.org/caught-in-the-crossfire-minority-languages-in-ukraine/ ) Russian wasn’t “banned” in Ukraine; it was more so that anyone who worked for the people was to speak Ukrainian. Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, was going to sign documents saying that Ukrainian was to be the language that is used most frequently. He did this right before he left office, as he lost the vote to Zelinski, who speaks Russian in public. With most of the population speaking both, but the east speaking more Russian than Ukrainian, many people thought this law (and another law about passports) would cause division between them. (scourse: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/ukraine-passes-language-law-irritating-president-elect-and-russia-idUSKCN1S110Y/ )

Answer 3

Through my research, I found that this claim is blatantly false and has continually been used to justify political action taken against Russian enemies. I found a source written in Arabic and then translated into English, a speech from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, in which he states, “Language and religion – these are precisely what the current regime in Kiev has outlawed with respect to Russian-speaking and ethnic Russian citizens of Ukraine. This is an unprecedented act. Nowhere else in the world is any language prohibited – not Hebrew in Arab states, nor Arabic in Israel. The Kiev regime has sought to outdo all others in this regard.” This claim was made on the 11th of September of this year, but relates to a repeated false claim made in 2022 that Russian is banned in Ukraine, utilized as a pretext for invasion. Lavrov is obviously biased towards Russia, as he is their political representative. The idea of language being used as a power play is nothing new. Historically speaking, Ukraine didn’t ban Russian; they just made it mandatory for civil servants, and such, to know Ukrainian. The Ukrainian president, Poroshenko, was expected to sign it into law before he left office because he lost reelection to Zelinskiy, who primarily speaks Russian in public. Ukrainian is the predominant language in western Ukraine, while Russian is predominant in much of the east, but most of the population speaks both fluently. Speaking a politicized language in a country where there is controversy surrounding that language always comes with risks. While Israel recognizes Arabic as a state language, no Arab country recognizes Hebrew as a state language. In fact, there would be repercussions if people were found speaking Hebrew in some Arab countries. 12 Arab and Muslim countries forbid Israeli citizens from entering. This, in and of itself, is an example that discrimination based on language and place of origin is not unique to Russia nor new.

https://minorityrights.org/caught-in-the-crossfire-minority-languages-in-ukraine/

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/ukraine-passes-language-law-irritating-president-elect-and-russia-idUSKCN1S110Y/