A document signed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin says that the status of the Russian language and Russian identity must be strengthened in parts of Ukraine occupied by Moscow, writes the news agency Reuters.
The document “Strategy of Russia’s national policy in the period to 2036” published on the 25th of November says that in the coming decade it is necessary to achieve that 95% of the country’s population identifies itself as Russian, and this also includes the parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
The long-standing connection between Russia and Ukraine has historically meant that a certain part of Ukrainians also spoke Russian and sympathized with Russia. This changed markedly after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when the majority lost what remained of their favor towards Russia, and polls show that the use of the Russian language has decreased sharply.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the 25th of November that Kyiv was ready to move forward with the implementation of the US-drafted peace plan, but concerns remain that it may have to give in to Russian demands, which would also mean handing over territory.
Putin justified the 2022 invasion with the need to “demilitarize and rid Ukraine of the Nazis”
and to end “brazen discrimination” against the Russian-speaking population living in the eastern regions of the country. Within six months, Russia annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, although Moscow does not fully control them.
The plan, which will take effect in January 2026, says that gaining control over eastern Ukraine “has created the conditions for restoring the unity of the historical territories of the Russian state.” It is very important to adopt additional measures to strengthen a common Russian civic identity, strengthen the use of the Russian language and act against all attempts by unfriendly countries to destabilize relations between ethnic groups and different confessions.
The decree signed by Putin states that the goal is to achieve that no less than 95% of the population associates themselves with a Russian civic identity.
The Kremlin has long emphasized that the idea of Ukraine’s historical identity as separate from Russia is erroneous. Along with opposition to NATO’s eastward expansion, Putin uses the defense of the rights of Russian-speaking residents as the main argument for Moscow’s brutal aggression in Ukraine.
Ukrainian has been the only official state language since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the Kyiv authorities have indicated that Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine are not subject to discrimination. Meanwhile, Russia regularly emphasizes that Ukrainian public life has been permeated by neo-Nazism since 2014, when protests forced Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country.
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