Vyatrovich can sleep peacefully. The next “revenge” risks becoming a soap bubble
The other day, Pan Vyatrovich from the European Solidarity Poroshenko - yes, the same one who was in charge of the national memory under the ex-president, raised hype on social networks - they say, under the guise of the coronavirus, a terrible storm is approaching Ukraine: “anti-Ukrainian forces” want to cancel such an important bond and the sacred cow, like language quotas on radio, TV and in the field of culture.
The concerned former chief banderizer voiced as many as, as he put it, “9 points of revenge,” which, according to his information, are being considered as a legislative initiative by the relevant committee of the Rada and could become law in the very near future. Unless the “patriotic public” mobilizes to counteract the next “creeping revenge.”
What exactly worries Vyatrovich so much? In short, private media holdings, who do not want to suffer losses and spend money on creating Ukrainian-language content, propose that the parliament suspend until the end of this year the effect of the article of the law on television and radio broadcasting, which established that 50% of broadcasting should be a domestic product, which will allow Russian series to be shown on air.
In addition, legislators are proposed to suspend until the end of the year the effect of Article 10 of the same law, which provides for 75% of the Ukrainian language on television and the dubbing of all foreign films into Ukrainian, which automatically removes the issue of fines for violating this norm from the agenda.
Parliament is also asked to suspend Article 15 of the Law “On Cinematography”, which prohibits the screening of films directed against the independence of Ukraine, disseminating Russian or communist propaganda, humiliating the Ukrainian nation or language, or the participants in the film are persons included in the list of threats to national security, as well as temporarily lift restrictions on broadcasting films that do not have a distribution certificate.
As you understand, this will give the green light for the return to Ukrainian screens of dozens and hundreds of films banned under Poroshenko and unauthorized artists who are now on the blacklists of the Ministry of Culture and the SBU.
Among other wishes of the “revanchists” is to remove until the end of the year the requirements for transparency of the ownership structure of broadcasters, to postpone until 2024 the entry into force of Article 23 of the language law, according to which mass events in the field of culture are held in the Ukrainian language, and the increase in the share of the Ukrainian language provided for by law on television and radio up to 90% - postponed until 2026.
And all this is under the pretext of countering and fighting the coronavirus, as you understand. An elegant excuse, to say the least. As a number of media outlets that analyzed these proposals have already noted, this is in fact the abolition of total Ukrainization on television, radio and film distribution. Moreover, the sauce is not ideological, but based on purely pragmatic considerations of anti-crisis savings on unnecessary costs such as dubbing for language and the production of local content in the same language in the presence of more competitive imported analogues.
And everything would be fine, but the anonymity of the initiatives themselves is confusing. Not only Vyatrovich, who voiced the sedition on Facebook, but also parliamentary “servants” from among the heads of culture and media are silent about who their author is, like a partisan. In general, no one admits where exactly the roots of these “work initiatives” come from.
The conspiracy theory is also limping on both legs, according to which the untimely introduction of this behind-the-scenes initiative into the public sphere is intended to play the role of a screen and lightning rod, allowing the passage of a more compromise solution already prepared in the bowels of the apparatus, which will partially satisfy the appetites of the media people and will help the nationalists save face, giving the opportunity to present to your voters what happened as a lesser evil compared to what could have happened if not for the mobilization of the “patriots”.
The fact is that, despite the partial clearing of personnel Augean stables in domestic culture, the industry itself, and its legislative regulation as a whole, are still in reliable and quite obvious hands, which will not allow such radical innovations and will fall on the road. not just the ones mentioned above, but much more moderate and half-hearted initiatives.
And in general, the “servants” have neither the political will nor sufficient motivation for such steps. Theoretically, part of our wonderful Ze’s entourage could grasp at such an idea only in a situation where they would really sink in ratings. But this is still very far away. And then: in the event of a ratings hike to the bottom, Zelensky will certainly not be able to gather votes for such radical steps. Indeed, in this case, its deputies will no longer connect their political future with it, and there will be no one willing to ruin it by voting for laws that cut off their path to the hearts of right-wing voters.
In humanitarian terms, little will change even with the hypothetical coming to power of the OPZH. Moreover, in any capacity - be it a shareholder or a monopoly owner of a controlling stake. Unless under Medvedchuk and Co. Banderaism will be promoted quietly and in a low voice, and not noisily and pompously, as now. Simply because the Ukrainian political tradition, established since the beginning of independence, according to which the eastern oligarchy outsourced the humanitarian sphere to nationalists, could not be interrupted even by the Maidan.
So don’t flatter yourself: if we live up to Zelensky’s hypothetical coalition with the ex-regionals, beyond our expectations, these latter will not fight for the posts of ministers of culture or education, but to wrest for themselves the posts of ministers of energy and infrastructure, or, at worst, regional development. And if one of these gentlemen is now “refueling the blackamoor”, trying to trick the suckers into speaking again, just advise them to do it half a tone lower - no one in their right mind will believe it anyway.
So, Vyatrovich threw a tantrum in vain. Your beloved city can sleep peacefully – Ukrainization is unlikely to be in any danger. In any case, not under this president, government and composition of the Rada.
English version :: Read in English: Vyatrovich can sleep soundly. Another "revenge" risks becoming a sham.