Working Papers WP 2013-02 Centre for German and European Studies (CGES) Ksenia Maksimovtsova Contemporary Debates over Language Policy regarding Ethnic Minorities in Latvia and Ukraine: The Discourse of Russian-Language Press. WP 2013-02 2013 № 2 Bielefeld / St. Petersburg Working Papers WP 2013-02 Centre for German and European Studies Bielefeld University St. Petersburg State University Centre for German and European Studies (CGES) CGES Working Papers series includes publication of materials prepared within different activities of the Center for German and European Studies both in St. Petersburg and in Germany: The CGES supports educational programmes, research and scientific dialogues. In accordance with the CGES mission, the Working Papers are dedicated to the interdisciplinary studies of different aspects of German and European societies. The paper is written on the basis of the MA Thesis defended in the MA SES in June 2013 supervised by Dr. Anisya Khokhlova. The author’s internship at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg, Germany and autumn exchange semester at the University of Bielefeld made an invaluable contribution to the following research project. The publication of the MA thesis in the CGES Working Paper series was recommended by the Examination Committee as one of the best papers out of five MA theses defended by the students of the MA Programme ‘’Studies in European Societies’’ at St. Petersburg State University in June 2013. Ksenia Maksimovtsova graduated from the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences of St. Petersburg State University in 2011 (Major in International Relations, Political Science and Human Rights). Her academic interests include theories of nationalism, language policy, ethnic identity, bilingualism and post-Soviet transformations. Contact: [email protected] ISSN 1860-5680 © Centre for German and European Studies, 2013 1 Working Papers WP 2013-02 Centre for German and European Studies Table of contents Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3 1. The Theories of Social Constructivism in Relation to Nation, Ethnicity and Social Problems ........................................................................................... 9 1.1. Social Constructivism in Social Science .................................................................... 9 1.2. Social Constructivism in Theories of Nationalism and Ethnicity .................. 11 1.3. Social Constructivist Approach in the Theories of Social Problems ........... 15 2. Language Policy in Latvia and Ukraine after the Soviet Union disintegration .................................................................................................... 21 2.1. Impact of the Soviet National and Language Policy on Contemporary Political Development in Ukraine and Latvia. ................................................................. 21 2.2. The Politics of Nationalizing States in Latvia and Ukraine after 1991. ........ 27 2.3. The Characteristics of Language Policy in Ukraine after the USSR Disintegration. .............................................................................................................................. 30 2.3.1. Ethnic and Linguistic Composition of the Population. ................................................. 30 2.3.2. Regional Polarization of Linguistic and Political Preferences in Ukraine ........... 35 2.3.3. Legislation on Language Policy in Ukraine....................................................................... 36 2.4. Language Policy in Latvia after the Soviet Union Disintegration .................. 41 2.4.1. Ethnic Composition of Contemporary Latvia .................................................................. 41 2.4.2. Legislation on Language Policy ............................................................................................. 43 2.4.3. Language Policy relating the Latgalian Minority in Latvia ........................................ 48 2.4.4. The Referendum on the Russian Language in February, 2012 ................................ 50 2.5. Comparison of Language Policies in Latvia and Ukraine after the Soviet Union Disintegration .................................................................................................................. 52 3. Discourse Analysis of Russian-Language Newspapers in Latvia and Ukraine after the Soviet Union Disintegration. ............................................... 56 3.1. Theoretical Foundations of Discourse Analysis ................................................... 56 3.2. Discourse Analysis and Mass Media Research ..................................................... 58 3.3. Reiner Keller’s Research Programme on Discourse Analysis ........................ 60 3.4. Representation of Language Policy Regarding Ethnic Minorities in Russian-Language Newspapers in Latvia and Ukraine in the 1990s .................... 65 3.5. Comparison of Russian-Language Press in the 1990s in Latvia and Ukraine ............................................................................................................................................. 79 3.6. Representation of Language Policy on Ethnic Minorities in Russian- language Newspapers in Latvia and Ukraine in the 2000s ........................................ 80 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 106 References ...................................................................................................... 115 Appendix 1. Research Programme ................................................................ 125 Appendix 2. ..................................................................................................... 127 Appendix 3. ..................................................................................................... 129 2 Working Papers WP 2013-02 Centre for German and European Studies Introduction The Soviet Union disintegration in 1991 and the end of the ‘’cold war’’ have profoundly changed the political outlook of the world. All former USSR republics got a sovereign status which allowed them to choose their internal and foreign policy agenda and the further trajectory of their political development. This period has also significantly influenced language policy in contemporary Latvia and Ukraine. The authorities in the USSR gave few chances for both the Ukrainian and Latvian languages to be represented at the political and public levels within the countries. The main characteristic of that period was the complete dominance of the Russian language in all spheres of public life. Despite its privileged status and the high level of political representation of ethnic Russians, Latvia and Ukraine have always been characterized as being multiethnic and heterogeneous societies. In both countries, Latvian and Ukrainian were established as the only state languages which resulted in increased tensions within these states. As a result of this policy, the largest minority group in Latvia and Ukraine is now constituted by ethnic Russians. Thus, more than 11 million of those who marked their ‘’nationality’’ as ‘’Russians’’ during the last Soviet census in 1989 remained in the territory of Ukraine, but did not get any special status for the Russian language. The Soviet national policy has also a significant impact on contemporary situation in Latvia. The country has always experienced influxes of migrants from different parts of the USSR. In 1989, before the Soviet Union collapse, Latvians constituted only 52 % of the population. Consequently, controversial demographic situation, ethnic diversity, establishment of Ukrainian and Latvian as the only state languages without taking into consideration a huge group of Russian-speakers, enhanced a historical chance for both Latvia and Ukraine to conduct the politics of nationalizing states, in terms of Rogers Brubaker’s theory of nationalism. He considers them as «states that conceived by their dominant elites as nation-states, as the states of and for particular nations, yet as, ‘’incomplete’’ or ‘’unrealized’’ nation-states, as insufficiently ‘’national’’ in a variety of senses».1 It means that Latvian and Ukrainian politics after the restoration of independence are characterized by decisive attempts of both governments to promote the interests of the so-called ‘’core’’ nation; language policy has turned into an effective instrument of conducting the politics of nationalizing state. It is also supposed to be the key marker of national identity and a means of promoting the interests of the ‘’titular nationalities’’. This fact caused significant resistance of other ethnic groups living in the territories of both states, Russian- speakers in particular, who had been in privileged position before the Soviet Union collapse. Thus, the current relevance of the topic is demonstrated in continuous and ongoing debates over the language situation in Latvia and Ukraine. Language tensions after the USSR collapse are still one of the 1 Brubaker R. Nationalizing States in the old ‘’New Europe’’ and the new // Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 19. No 2. April 1996. P. 412. 3 Working Papers WP 2013-02 Centre for German and European Studies dominant topics in all political discussions which attract meticulous attention of the general public, mass media, politicians and human rights organisations. It is also important to note that the term ‘’minority’’ is not used in the demographic