Nicholas James: How did members of the Rada discuss Ukrainianization?

Ethnicity and language are among the most apparent obstacles for nation-building in Ukraine due to its multiethnic and multilingual character. Kulyk notes that contradictory policies during the Soviet period produced a wide discrepancy between identity and language practice [1]. This discrepancy remains in place today. For instance, a 2017 Razumkov Center survey finds a discrepancy in ethnolinguistic identities between Ukrainophone and Russophone (only Russian-speaking) Ukrainians: 92% of the population self-identify as “ethnic” Ukrainian, yet only 72.2% speak Ukrainian as a mother-tongue [2].