Contested Language Diversity in Contemporary Russia and Ukraine

Abstract

The various phases of dealing with minority/ national languages in the Soviet Union and in its successor states evidently reveal the polarising effects that language diversity can have in multinational societies. This article aims to analyse the area of tension between minority language legislation and minority activism in Russia and Ukraine during the last decade. Both countries are intensely engaged in language-dominated processes of identity-building. However, both are dealing differently with the Soviet legacy in language policy. Accordingly, the article not only examines the top-down perspective of changes in language legislation in both countries, but also sheds light on the bottom-up minority language activism that appears as a reaction to the latest decisions of the governments in the language sphere. On the basis of interviews with respondents from two language minorities (Kalmyks in Russia and Hungarians in Ukraine) this article highlights various aspects of minority communities – from different experiences with Soviet language policy to current developments of language and identity, language use in education, language attitudes, and reactions to state language policy.