February 01, 2023

A Ban on Russian


A Ban on Russian
A daytime photo of Kyiv-Mohlya Academy. Wikimedia Commons.

One of Ukraine's oldest higher education institutions has officially banned the use of the Russian language. The administration of Kyiv-Mohlya Academy's has announced that its ban does not just apply to classroom settings, but also to interpersonal communication between faculty, students, and staff. 

Hennadiy Zubko, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and a member of the university's supervisory board, said that "teaching in Russian had not occurred at the university for a very long time," and thus the decision was a minor administrative change and not a breach of academic freedom. He said that the change was approved at the fortieth session of the university's academic conference. 

Oleksii Arestovych, a former advisor to Ukrainian President, criticized the decision and labeled the ban a "violation" of article ten of the Ukrainin constitution, as well as the laws of the European Union. Arestovych, a self-proclaimed supporter of academic freedom, also said it would be impossible for Ukraine to teach without Russian textbooks. 

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