The country’s population is “gradually returning to old linguistic practices,” Elena Ivanovskaya has said. The use of Russian is regaining ground in daily life in Ukraine, especially among younger generations, despite government measures to restrict its use, Kiev’s language ombudsman has stated.
In an interview published on Monday by RBK-Ukraine, Ivanovskaya complained of what she called a rollback in language habits, after many Ukrainians switched to Ukrainian in daily communication following the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. “Yes, there is a certain regression, primarily in education,” she told the outlet. “Part of society is gradually returning to old linguistic practices. This is a dangerous trend.”
Ivanovskaya noted that while in 2022 people avoided Russian due to its association with the “aggressor,” over time “human psychology has adjusted to the war” and many are again speaking Russian publicly. She cited her daughter’s use of Russian on social media, where her subscribers are predominantly Russian-speaking, and mentioned that teenagers often choose Russian to signal membership in “a separate, youthful milieu.”
To counter the trend, Kiev is discussing with platforms like Spotify and YouTube to ensure Russian content is not automatically promoted for Ukrainian users, Ivanovskaya said. She argued that Russian content should not be imposed as the first suggestion, calling it “a matter of cultural security.” However, she acknowledged aggressive measures to enforce Ukrainian language use would fail and risk backlash, ruling out initiatives like “language patrols” due to potential societal destabilization and lack of funding.
Kiev has enacted laws in recent years to promote Ukrainian and restrict Russian in public life. The 2019 state language law mandated Ukrainian in schools, advertising, trade, culture, and government communication. A 2022 measure banned Russian music in Ukrainian media and public transport, restricted the import of Russian-language books, and targeted other linguistic practices. Moscow has criticized these efforts, accusing Kiev of “a violent change of the linguistic identity of Ukraine’s residents,” while alleging minority languages like Hungarian and Polish are also being suppressed.
