In the current conflict in Ukraine, one of Russia’s most effective propaganda weapons is its ability to fuel the fear in Ukraine’s eastern regions that the new government in Kyiv will enact laws against use of the Russian language and repress speakers of Russian. In 2014, in the aftermath of Euromaidan, the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, actually passed a law to repeal the “language law” of 2012,1 which had enabled the expansion of Russian at the regional level.
Kennan Cable No.15: Ukraine: What’s a Language For?
