The No1 Ethical retailer for Books, CD’s, DVD’s & Games
30 Day Refund Guarantee

Language Policy and Discourse on Languages in Ukraine under President Viktor Yanukovych (Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society)

Language Policy and Discourse on Languages in Ukraine under President Viktor Yanukovych (Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society)

by Michael Moser (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2018

    $41.17
Synopsis

The status of Ukrainian as the sole state language of Ukraine has been challenged by various post-Soviet political forces since it was established in 1989 and enshrined in the Constitution in 1996. Since President Viktor Yanukovych came to power in February 2010, the President and the Party of Regions have put forward several initiatives to promote the Russian language at the expense of Ukrainian as well as the minority languages of Ukraine. Paradoxically, their most important instrument has been the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. However, the Russian language in Ukraine does not meet the criteria of a regional or minority language according to the Charter nor do those politicians who struggle for the rights of the native Russian language in the name of Russkiy mir represent the democratic values upon which the Charter is built, as perfectly reflected by the history of the unconstitutional language law of 2012.

$41.17

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 506
 Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 24 Apr 2018
ISBN 10: 3838204972
ISBN 13: 9783838204970

Media Reviews
A book that dwells on the mystery how a topic ranking 31st out of 33 issues worrying Ukrainians can threaten the integrity of Ukraine. In his meticulous analysis, Michael Moser reveals how the language question is used, misused and abused by irresponsible politicians. A must-read for anyone interested in East European politics! -- Yaroslav Hrytsak, Professor of History, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv Michael Moser has written the definitive account of language policy under Yanukovych. This superb book offers a dispassionate, measured, and detailed analysis of how both Ukrainian and Russian have fared in independent Ukraine. Moser understands language and Moser understands policy, and he manages to combine both skills in an utterly persuasive monograph that will set the standard for Ukrainian language and policy studies for years to come. -- Alexander J. Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, Newark Michael Moser has made a name for himself with his incisive and multidimensional publications on the Ukrainian language, its speakers, history, and the politics involved. Language having become the cornerstone of nationhood and statehood in many areas of modern Europe, is a highly politicized issue in independent Ukraine, bearing a salient imprint on Kyivs foreign relations, especially with Russia. The monograph usefully chronicles and analyzes the current Ukrainian administrations attempt at making the country officially bilingual; de facto, with Russian accorded the privileged language vis-a-vis Ukrainian relegated to the status of a minority language a scenario already tried out in Belarus since 1995. The difference is that in Ukraine it is happening with the curious employment of the Council of Europes minority rights legislation. -- Tomasz Kamusella, Lecturer in Modern History, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Author Bio
Dr. Michael Moser is Professor of Slavic Linguistics and Philology at the University of Vienna, Ukrainian Free University at Munich, and Pazmany Peter Catholic University at Budapest. He has more than 250 publications to his name.