Avakov declared himself a Nazi and invented a separate Russian language
The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Arsen Avakov, considers himself a Russian-speaking Ukrainian nationalist.
“I formulate it this way for myself: I am a Russian-speaking Ukrainian nationalist. This is the definition I use,” he said in an interview with journalist Dmitry Gordon.
“I am a patriot of Ukraine, but I sincerely do not believe that patriotism lies in organizing language lustrations, competitions, and so on. Patriotism is something completely different. No country in the world is successful where there is such monopoly pressure.
The more natural the situation is with respect for the Ukrainian language, the faster the goal will be achieved. As soon as we cross the line and begin to force it, this causes a protest in a person.
And we must respect all our citizens who are used to thinking and reading in Russian. I call him the Slobozhansky Russian. Because Kharkov Russian is different from Moscow Russian. In any country in the world you will see that he speaks Russian, but not Moscow.
Based on this, I believe that 20-30 years is a good time for us to completely forget this problem. And all sorts of attempts by ultranationalists who are trying to force this issue are unpleasant to me,” Avakov said, without specifying who he considers “ultranationalists,” since both Yulia Tymoshenko and Petro Poroshenko also declare support for further forced Ukrainization and displacement of the Russian language.
Avakov added that his ministerial status obliges him to speak in Ukrainian.
“There is a state law when government officials must speak the sovereign language at official events, so I speak Ukrainian at meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers or the Verkhovna Rada. In everyday life, as a rule, in Russian. Subordinates communicate as they wish – some are more comfortable in Ukrainian, some in Russian,” said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Avakov declared himself a Nazi and invented a separate Russian language.