Odesa, Ukraine's third-biggest city, is scheduled to vote this week on a controversial plan to ban the Russian language in public arts. The proposal, under consideration by city councillors, aims to expand on existing national restrictions on Russian language use.
The plan calls for a complete halt to Russian-language content in music and literature in public areas, including streets, parks, public institutions, and state-run arts and entertainment venues. It would also recommend a ban in privately owned spaces, though not require it. All Russian-language books would be removed from display in public libraries.
The proposal has generated strong reactions in Odesa, a city known for its Russian-language writers and musicians. Lawyer Artem Kartashov, who has advised on a programme to "decolonise" Odesa, stated that "The Russian language is a weapon of Russia, and we need to try to fix that." Conversely, comic actor Borys Barsky argued that "Russian isn't [only] the language of Putin, it's the language of [writers like] Dostoyevsky and Bulgakov."
While Russian is the first language for millions of Ukrainians, including many troops, Ukrainian is the sole state language. A 2019 law already mandates the use of Ukrainian in many public and professional contexts. The new proposal is similar to measures already in effect in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.