Language

The Ukrainian and Russian languages share about 60% of their vocabulary (Bermel, 2022), with fewer similarities than between Italian and Portuguese. They have diverged from each other into two distinct languages, with Ukrainian absorbing Polish and Austrian influences.

The Russians had systematically made sure that Ukrainian did not develop into a language for intellectuals. The banning of Ukrainian as a language of instruction in schools had put the language under extreme pressure. However, under the shadow of Russia, the language of Ukraine became a core component of Ukrainian resistance and aspirations. The Russians repeatedly tried to ban all Ukrainian books and newspapers—a policy that always failed. Also, restricting the language of education to Russian did not have the desired Russification effect, partly because they had previously “peasantified” the bulk of the population by limiting their access to education. No school meant no Russian. The unforeseen consequence was that the two policies worked together to keep Ukrainians away from Russian influence.