Humanitarian gift to the Russian consul

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted in an unusual way to the Russian Consul General in the Crimea Vladimir Andreev’s statements to the effect that the Ukrainian language threatened the lives of non-speakers. “On this occasion, we have bought a Ukrainian language textbook for Russian language speakers and a Russian-Ukrainian phrasebook, and sent these books to Andreev care of the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine. We hope this would help Andreev to serve better at his posting in the Crimea,” said the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Oleksandr Dykusarov at a briefing. Let us recall that the Russian official said in a recent interview for a local newspaper that the Ukrainian language threatened the lives of non-speakers. This category, according to the diplomat, included the elderly. “The situation of the Russian language in the Crimea is somewhat unnatural and abnormal. You know, I do watch TV, and it usually speaks in Ukrainian. When I come to the pharmacy and try to buy some drugs, only my memory helps me recognize what drug is good to treat what disease,” Andreev complains. “I would not understand anything in instructions to drugs, in spite of living in the Ukrainian language environment for a year and a half and understanding almost all colloquial words. But I do not understand professional terms. This problem is particularly acute for the elderly, who take many medications. Look, there is a new medication that should be urgently taken by an elderly person. And what is he or she to do when left alone with an instruction in Ukrainian? This situation may pose a threat to his or her life. You see, I have to defend their human rights!” It is strange that the diplomat concealed the fact that all drugs in Ukraine are provided with instructions not only in Ukrainian, but in Russian, too. Even more incredibly, the Consul General learned English and French, but openly despises the neighbor’s language, Ukrainian, as he has not been able to learn more than “colloquial words” in a year and a half he spent in Ukraine. “And it is with regret that I point out that Russia does not emphasize the question of the Russian language with a proper degree of perseverance in our official communication with Ukraine,” Andreev adds. In his view, the situation of the Russian language is “unacceptable and artificially imposed,” and Crimean children should study “according to the Russian school curriculum, then continue their studies in Russia, and not necessarily in Russia only.” The Research Director at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Oleksandr Sushko noted in his commentary for The Day that Andreev’s statements aimed “to detect weaknesses in the policy of the Ukrainian government; in this case, it was policy on the Russian language. The Russian central government does not raise questions on the status of the Russian language, so this job falls to its low-ranking officials. It’s just a reminder to the Ukrainian side that Kyiv’s concessions will never be going far enough for Russia.”

However, now the Consul General of Russia will have less time and fewer reasons for complaining about the Ukrainian language’s dominance in the Crimea. Only time will tell, if

Andreev will benefit from our MFA’s gift. The Ukrainian language takes no offense from anybody! One can only sympathize with some of our “great-power” neighbors who are unable to learn it.