Ukrainian Mayor Using Russian on SNS... Violation of 'State Language Law'

Mayor of Eastern Kharkiv, Home to Many Russian Residents
Fined 120,000 Won... This Is the Second Time

The mayor of an eastern Ukrainian region, where ethnic Russians constitute the majority, has been fined for using Russian on social networking services (SNS).

According to a report by Russia's state-run broadcaster RT on the 22nd (local time), Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is accused of violating the state language law by communicating in Russian instead of Ukrainian, the national (official) language, on his Facebook and Telegram SNS accounts. As a result, Taras Kremen, Ukraine's state language protector, imposed a fine of 3,400 hryvnias (approximately 120,000 KRW) on Mayor Terekhov.

Mayor of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, Ihor Terekhov.
Photo by UPI Yonhap News

This is not the first time Mayor Terekhov has been fined for violating the state language law. In November last year, he was fined the same amount for using Russian during a TV broadcast appearance. At that time, Mayor Terekhov sued Protector Kremen, claiming the fine was unjust. He argued, "While I will use Ukrainian in all official communications, I will continue to use Russian in conversations with residents," adding, "I responded as an individual, not as a mayor."

Ukrainian Designated as the Sole State Language in 2019

Earlier, the Ukrainian government adopted the "Law on the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language" in May 2019, during the pro-Western former President Petro Poroshenko's administration. The purpose of this law was to establish national identity by breaking away from Russian influence, designating Ukrainian as the sole state language. Accordingly, the use of Ukrainian is mandatory in most public spaces such as government agencies, courts, military, police, schools, hospitals, and stores, and violations can result in penalties. However, exceptions are allowed for private conversations and religious ceremonies.

At the time of the law's enactment, some pro-Russian opposition parties filed a petition with the Constitutional Court, arguing that the law infringed on the rights of Russian-speaking citizens. However, the law has since been continuously strengthened and is scheduled for revision this month.

Russia has claimed that this law violates the rights of Russian speakers, who make up about half of Ukraine's population. Last week, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, also raised her voice in criticism, stating, "The Ukrainian government's discriminatory measures against the Russian language are becoming increasingly extreme."

Russian and Ukrainian both belong to the East Slavic language family, but they differ significantly in grammar and vocabulary. Residents of southeastern Ukraine, who have strong pro-Russian tendencies, typically use Russian in daily life, whereas the western regions predominantly use Ukrainian.