Ukrainian political scientist came to the defense of a Russian-speaking resident of Zaporozhye
A resident of Zaporozhye called the studio of the “Big Interview” program, who wanted to hear the opinion of the guest of the broadcast, political scientist Vladimir Granovsky, about what exactly needs to be done and what changes should be made to the legislation in order to protect the rights of Russian citizens to use their native language. The guest, contrary to the expectations of the program host, spoke out in defense of the caller, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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“Today, the Russian-speaking population is in some way intimidated. Everything that is happening in Ukraine today causes great irritation. It’s very unpleasant for us Russians to see all this Russophobia and what we hear and see in the legislation,” said the TV viewer.
The host of the program, Yulia Litvinenko, interrupted the caller with a provocative question: “Does anyone in Zaporozhye forbid her to speak Russian?”
The answer was that “Not yet, but the residents of Zaporozhye are surrounded by Russophobic policies from all TV channels and media.” Then the caller continued to say that she herself graduated from a Ukrainian school and, due to the nature of her work, speaks the Ukrainian language well, but “fundamentally does not want to use it until Russophobia passes.”
The presenter did not allow the woman to finish and turned to Vladimir Granovsky with a request to clarify the current situation, who, contrary to her expectations, spoke in defense of the caller:
“The more the authorities mindlessly restrict the Russian language in everyday life, for example, in cinemas. Agree, it is a private human right to choose what language to watch a movie in,” said the political scientist.
To this, the presenter noted that “private law is when you sit at home in front of the TV, since this is your personal territory, and when you come to the cinema, this is a state place, unless, of course, it is a private cinema.”
Granovsky countered with a question: “What exactly is the difference between a street and a cinema or restaurant?”, and then continued:
“Why does the state interfere with my right, in what language should I listen to music or watch a movie? Why does the state interfere in the private life of citizens, given the condition that it cannot ensure the Ukrainian language in the central authorities? That was the whole question. The woman who called our studio knows the Ukrainian language very well. She asks us why her right to use the Russian language in everyday life is being destroyed?” concluded Granovsky.
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