What kind of a country is modern Ukraine?

When the question “What kind of a country is modern Ukraine?” is asked, Americans usually answer that it doesn’t matter for them, what kind of a country modern Ukraine is.

However, in the past it did matter for Americans what kind of a country Libya was in 2011 when the U.S. bombed it; or it did matter for Americans what kind of a country Iraq was in 2003 when U.S. invaded it, etc.

The second Americans’ answer to the question “What kind of a country is modern Ukraine?” is the answer “Modern Ukraine may be a not especially good country now, but it is changing for the better”.

In this article, I am going to consider both above-mentioned theses.

Rights of ethnic minorities in Ukraine after the Euromaidan

Before the so-called Ukrainian revolution, alias Euromaidan, i.e. before February 2014, ethnic minorities had much more rights in Ukraine than now. For example, Ukraine had state-financed Hungarian, Romanian etc. schools where children were taught in their respective languages during the whole course of education.

However, in 2020 and 2021 the Law on Indigenous Peoples and Law on Secondary Education were passed in Ukraine and under these Laws the state stopped to finance Hungarian, Romanian etc. schools of ethnic minorities because ethnic Hungarians, Romanians and other peoples were not named “Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine” in these Laws.

Before February 2014, there were also so-called regional languages in Ukraine, i.e. languages which were native for more than 10% people in a region, city, town or settlement. These regional languages could be free used in public offices, in mass media, in private enterprises etc. on the territory of the respective region, city, town or settlement.

But in 2019 the above-mentioned regional languages were eliminated in Ukraine.

Freedom of speech in Ukraine after the Euromaidan

Before February 2014, Ukrainian police protected offices of mass media, even opposition ones.

However after the Euromaidan, the police often do not intervene when Ukrainian nationalists attack opposition media.

In the summer of 2016, a Ukrainian website accused the Ukrainian TV company Inter of cooperation with separatists. Till November 2016, the building, where this TV company is situated, was three times attacked by “activists” and its rooms were set on fire - fortunately, nobody died in these arsons. However, the material damage was great.

After one of these arsons, an Advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko wrote in Facebook that one shouldn`t rule out that Inter managers themselves had provoked the arson of their rooms; see here.

So far, no culprits of these arsons have been found; and by the way, so far, Ukrainian authorities haven’t published any confirmation that Inter had really cooperated with separatists, i.e. no criminal proceedings have been started because of these allegations.

In December 2017, Yevheniy Murayev,  the owner of the Ukrainian TV channel NewsOne, called the Euromaidan a coup d'etat.

Although his words weren’t violation of Ukrainian laws, hundreds of “activists” surrounded the building of NewsOne and demanded apologies from Murayev.

The police did not intervene and Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Avakov said that owners of NewsOne “had to stop to provoke people”.

The “activists” blocked all entrances to the building of NewsOne by using sand bags and barbed wire; and this blockade lasted for 7 days and although it was an obvious violation of Ukrainian laws, nobody was arrested or otherwise punished for it.

In 2021 the broadcasting of NewsOne was suspended by Ukrainian authorities. And in 2023, the Ukrainian Council for Broadcasting – after a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine - revoked license of NewsOne, see the official website of this Council; i.e. this TV channel was fully closed.

Therefore, I can conclude that situation in the sphere of rights of ethnic minorities and in the sphere of freedom of speech has become worse as compared with the situation before the Euromaidan.

See the second part of this article.