Russian efforts to eradicate the Ukrainian language

Language is the source code of identity, which directs the commands of thought and expression. So far, we have seen how Russia was rewriting the history and was corrupting the culture – but the attack on the Ukrainian language aims to erase the source code itself.

However, the Ukrainian language persists, constantly clashing, rejecting the simulation imposed from the outside, while keeping the full imprint of the history and culture that preceded it.

In contemporary Russian ideology, the narrative of " protection of Russian speakers ” takes a central role. In 2014, claims that Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine faced discrimination were used to justify military and political intervention. In 2022, similar rhetoric accompanied the full-scale invasion. “Strategy for Policy on Russian State Nationalities until 2036” updated justifies(opens in a new tab)aggressive occupation as a historical reunification of the Russian-speaking population. Combined with a narrative manipulative that the majority of Ukrainians are Russian-speaking, this strategy opens the door to further Russian interference.

The idea that dismantling the Ukrainian language is essential to controlling Ukraine predates Vladimir Putin. For centuries, Russian authorities – imperial, Soviet, and now contemporary – have treated the language as a political variable rather than a cultural heritage. During four hundred years(opens in a new tab)The Ukrainian language has been restricted through circulars, decrees, ecclesiastical condemnations, and statutory prohibitions designed to limit its use in education, publishing, administration, and public life.

Since the Soviet period, Russian has been elevated to the status of a supranational language – the main tool of administration, science, and more recently has been promoted as a means of " interethnic communication ".(opens in a new tab)“. It carried institutional authority and upward mobility. In contrast, the Ukrainian language was often confined to the private sphere and portrayed as provincial, suitable for folklore but not for power.

Attempts to weaken the Ukrainian language through legal mechanisms also appeared within the country. In 2012, under President Viktor Yanukovych, parliament passed the Kivalov-Kolesnichenko language law.(opens in a new tab), expanding the official use of Russian in some regions. Critics warned that this eroded the constitutional status of Ukraine.(opens in a new tab)as the sole state language. Mass protests in 2014 led to Yanukovych's ouster, reflecting broader resistance to the link with Moscow and a strengthening commitment to European integration.

Occupied Crimea offers a concentrated example of language policy under Russian control. Despite the Kremlin’s declaration of three official languages ​​on the peninsula – Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar – until the end of 2025(opens in a new tab)no Ukrainian schools remained in Crimea.

 Under the mask(opens in a new tab)of “improving teacher qualifications” and “improving educational programs”, Russia has systematically tried to Russify and militarize Ukrainian children.(opens in a new tab)in temporarily occupied territories.

Although surveys show that more than 90%(opens in a new tab)of Ukrainian teachers, parents, and students identify Ukrainian as their native language, the Kremlin's messages continue to PROMOTING(opens in a new tab)the narrative that Russian speakers face systematic oppression in Ukraine.

The claim persists despite the lack of evidence to support it. It is worth noting that the percentage of people who identify as Ukrainian as their mother tongue has increased over time, partly due to Russian aggression. Instead of protecting them, the Kremlin is pushing away those who have spoken Russian.

The policies implemented in the occupied territories – from educational restructuring to the suppression of Ukrainian public life – provide a clearer indication of intent. It becomes overwhelmingly clear what future the Kremlin is plotting for all of Ukraine.

If history defines the past and culture embodies collective memory, language transmits both from generation to generation.

Therefore, efforts to control it target something fundamental: a society's ability to describe itself on its own terms.

The Geopost