Michael Moser

The status of Ukrainian as the sole state language of Ukraine has been challenged by various post-Soviet political forces since it was established in 1989 and enshrined in the Constitution in 1996. Since President Viktor Yanukovych came to power in February 2010, the President and the Party of Regions have put forward several initiatives to promote the Russian language at the expense of Ukrainian as well as the minority languages of Ukraine. Paradoxically, their most important instrument has been the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. However, the Russian language in Ukraine does not meet the criteria of a regional or minority language according to the Charter nor do those politicians who struggle for the “rights of the native Russian language” in the name of Russkiy mir represent the democratic values upon which the Charter is built, as perfectly reflected by the history of the unconstitutional language law of 2012.

Michael Moser is Professor of Slavic Linguistics and Philology at the University of Vienna, Ukrainian Free University at Munich, and Pázmány Péter Catholic University at Budapest. His more than 250 publications include several monographs, most recently: Prychynky do istoriyi ukrainskoyi movy (3rd edn, Nova Knyha 2012) and Taras Shevchenko i suchasna ukrayinska mova: Sproba hidnoyi otsinky (NANU et al. 2012).

“A book that dwells on the mystery how a topic ranking 31st out of 33 issues worrying Ukrainians can threaten the integrity of Ukraine. In his meticulous analysis, Michael Moser reveals how the language question is used, misused and abused by irresponsible politicians. A must-read for anyone interested in East European politics!”
Yaroslav Hrytsak, Professor of History, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv

“Michael Moser has written the definitive account of language policy under Yanukovych. This superb book offers a dispassionate, measured, and detailed analysis of how both Ukrainian and Russian have fared in independent Ukraine. Moser understands language and Moser understands policy, and he manages to combine both skills in an utterly persuasive monograph that will set the standard for Ukrainian language and policy studies for years to come.”
Alexander J. Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, Newark

“Michael Moser has made a name for himself with his incisive and multidimensional publications on the Ukrainian language, its speakers, history, and the politics involved. Language having become the cornerstone of nationhood and statehood in many areas of modern Europe, is a highly politicized issue in independent Ukraine, bearing a salient imprint on Kyiv’s foreign relations, especially with Russia. The monograph usefully chronicles and analyzes the current Ukrainian administration’s attempt at making the country officially bilingual; de facto, with Russian accorded the privileged language vis-à-vis Ukrainian relegated to the status of a minority language – a scenario already tried out in Belarus since 1995. The difference is that in Ukraine it is happening with the curious employment of the Council of Europe’s minority rights legislation.”
Tomasz Kamusella, Lecturer in Modern History, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

"Michael Moser [...] widmet [...] sich einem aktuellen und hochbrisanten Thema: der Sprachpolitik und dem metasprachlichen Diskurs in der Ukraine in den ersten rund zweieinhalb Jahren unter Staatspräsident Janukovyc.[...] Insgesamt ist Michael Moser eine fundierte und hervorragend lesbare, auf einer breiten Basis von Presse- und Internetquellen fußende Studie gelungen."
Mark Brüggemann, Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas