A recent report by Mark Bennetts, a journalist for the British newspaper 'The Times', sheds light on a sensitive human aspect of the war in Ukraine: the internal conflict faced by a large number of Russian-speaking Ukrainians. The Russian language, which is the primary language of communication for many citizens, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself, has become laden with contradictory meanings today. Its speakers find it difficult to accept the idea that they are using the language of the country that is fighting them and has caused them so much misery. Bennetts points out that some Ukrainians are trying to rid the Russian language from public discourse as an expression of their rejection of everything politically related to Russia, despite their deep understanding of the difficulty of this endeavor, given how deeply rooted this language is in their daily lives and personal culture. Conversely, others believe that the Russian language should not be burdened with the blame for the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They insist there is no problem in using it, as it is part of their identity and culture, and not the property of the Russian regime. During a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Bennetts met a woman born in the Russian-speaking city of Donetsk, which is currently under Russian control. She recounted how she changed the spelling of her name to make it Ukrainian and decided to force herself to speak Ukrainian exclusively, to think, and even—she says—to dream in it. She describes her experience as a prime political act and a victory over herself, considering the erasure of her first language, the one she grew up speaking at home before the Russian war in 2022, a powerful symbolic step expressing her personal and national independence. Bennetts mentions that during his travels, he realized that most older Ukrainians do not show great sensitivity to the language used in communication with them, whereas some young people take symbolic positions on this issue. For example, it is said that they penalize taxi drivers who speak Russian by giving them low ratings on the ride-hailing app 'Bolt'. In conclusion of his report, Bennetts called on readers to check out the novel 'One Ukrainian Summer,' which are memoirs written by Ukrainian student Viv Gursko about her academic year in the former Soviet Union, an experience filled with linguistic and cultural paradoxes.
