Serhii Datsyuk: Ukrainization and the solution of the Russian question | Sept. 15, 2017 |

The latest decisions of the authorities indicate the complete absence of at least any strategy for Ukrainization and a solution to the Russian question. The absence of a Ukrainization strategy and at least some scenarios for solving the Russian question today are critical both with regard to Ukraine's former colonial past as part of Russia's geopolitical space, and with regard to Russia's current war against Ukraine.

So, two questions as one sound like this: how can we achieve Ukrainization in Ukraine and at the same time what should we do with Russian citizens-Ukraine? The first part is a Ukrainian issue, the second part is a Russian issue.

In other words, it is impossible to solve the Ukrainian problem without solving the Russian problem in the coming decades.

Exposure of insufficient Ukrainization in Ukraine

Terrible, dangerous and scandalous things are happening in Ukraine now.
Ukraine's new law on education caused an international scandal. At the same time, against the background of this process, the online publication"Zbruch" offered its way of Ukrainization .

A very controversial process was started in this publication by well-known Ukrainian writers - Andruhovych, Prokhasko and Vynnychuk.

First, Yuriy Andruhovych questioned the main public and official guideline of the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014, "One Country." His article was called ironically "United country". It called into question the mentioned main instruction on the unity of the country and actually laid the foundations of national discord between Ukrainians and Russians in the form of, as it came to be called, "regional racism." Although it can also be called Galician separatism with a clear orientation towards the GNR (Galician People's Republic).

Eastern Ukrainian philologist Ivanna Skyba-Yakubova was very critical of Andruhovych's position with the article "Enough missionary postures, or there are no cynocephalians living in the East". Yurii Andruhovich did not want to understand the criticism, nor to somehow reflect on the essence of his position, and gave an answer to the answer - Humiliated and insulted, or Humiliated and offended". In it, he again insisted on his right to separate assessments, but did not say the main thing - whether he is really for a single country, or whether he is for the East of Ukraine separately from the West of Ukraine.

More to come. There, Taras Prokhasko resorted to Freudian generalizations in "Zbrucha" in his article "Do you sleep in Ukrainian"? This is quite a development of the hypothesis of Sapir-Whorf, who believed that it is not reality that regulates language, but language that regulates reality. Taras Prokhasko went even further - he believes that language regulates not only reality, but even dreams. This is a kind of "Farion in a square".

All this together could be very attractive. But what finally drove me away from the Jewish authors was when I got to know not only the physical unkemptness, but also the moral dirt of this chosen people..."

Adolf Hitler speaks precisely on an emotional and figurative level in order to humiliate the Jews. Vinnychuk does the same to humiliate the Russians. I don't know which Russians Mr. Vinnychuk saw, but I can say from my own experience that dirt has no nationality, just like cleanliness.

Two weeks have passed since the publication of Vinnychuk's article. There is still no critical, reflexive and dignified reaction of Ukrainian intellectuals.

"Zbruch" does a very dangerous thing. This is not just ethno-nationalism, which supports the current President of Ukraine out of despair at losing his rating. This is not just "regional racism" with elements of fascism. This is a revision of the Revolution of Dignity, since with this approach we are not talking about a revolution of dignity, but a revolution of ethno-national dignity, where representatives of the Russian ethnic group are denied the right to honor and dignity.

At the current official level, the topic of the post-colonial dignity of Ukrainians is supported and stimulated in every possible way, and the topic of the post-colonial dignity of ethnic Russians is not that it is not supported, it is in every way rejected, twisted, humiliated and generally recognized as having no right to exist.

I would really like to know the thoughts of Ukrainian public intellectuals on this matter, especially Zabuzhko and Zhadan. Do we, Ukrainians, really stand for "our and your freedom", that is, for all freedom, or do we stand for only "our freedom", that is, for ethno-national freedom?

The Russian question has been raised, but there is no official solution

The ban on some Russian Internet resources in Ukraine, language quotas for media broadcasting, the controversial education law - all this indicates not only Ukrainianization, but also an attack on the rights of Ukrainian citizens who are ethnic Russians. While the war is going on, the Russians in Ukraine are silent. But such bad decisions do not paint any positive prospects for Ukrainian Russians. Ukraine lacks not only a strategy of Ukrainization, but also a strategy of actions towards Ukrainian Russians who support the Revolution of Dignity and reforms, which were often in the ATO from the side of Ukraine, who have always been, are and will be at the forefront of the ideological war with the Russians of Russia.

There are five main approaches of Ukraine and Ukrainians towards Ukrainian citizens who are ethnically Russian:

liquidation,

deportation,

discrimination,

isolation or segregation,

assimilation or solidarity

.

Neither Germans nor Poles: Jewish Nationalism in Galicia before Herzl, 1883-1897

'Sapere aude'