A quarter of Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine are against the state status of the Russian language
Today, the majority of Ukrainian citizens are in favor of ensuring that only the Ukrainian language has state status, writes Ukrainian sociologist and director of the Democratic Initiatives Foundation Irina Bekeshkina in an article for the Kyiv magazine “New Time”.
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“According to the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in 1992, 37% spoke Ukrainian in the family, 29% spoke Russian, 32% spoke both languages, and in 2016 - 42%, 32% and 25%, respectively. But significant changes have occurred in relation to the status of the Russian language. In 1996, the question was posed for the first time: “Do you support granting official status to the Russian language in Ukraine?”, and then 51% of respondents answered positively, 33% - negatively,” recalls the sociologist.
The material also notes that the percentage of those who approve of the idea of state status for the Russian language has been constantly decreasing, and approximate parity in this matter occurred in 2010 - 2012.
“After the well-known events of 2014, the situation changed dramatically. In 2016, 50% of the population are already against it, and only 30% are still in favor. Naturally, the Ukrainian-speaking population is against it (83%), but there is no unanimity among the Russian-speaking population either: yes, a relative majority (59%) would like official status for Russians, but 26% are against it, and another 14% are undecided.
If you look at the regions, this issue still splits Ukraine. The West is definitely against, the center is also, the south (even without Crimea) is divided in the proportion of 41% to 39%, the east (without Donbass) is mostly for, Donbass is absolutely for. But if you even look at Donbass, support for the Russian language has nevertheless decreased: in 2013 it was 73%, and now it is 66%,” Bekeshkina points out..
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