New non-Russian voices

Press, 12 June 1987, Page 16

New non-Russian voices

From “The Economist,” London

Mr Gorbachev’s glasnost has given back their voices to the non-Russian half of the Soviet Union’s people. Greater freedom to publish has unleashed an outcry from writers concerned about the preservation of the, country’s various non-Russian languages: not least in the western republics of the Soviet Union, always sensitive on this matter. A leading Ukrainian writer, Mr Oles Honchar, has attacked the “falseness and hypocrisy” which rails into question the need to learn one’s native language. In Estonia, the chairman of the writers’ union, Mr Vladimir Beekman, told a meeting attended by Mr Gorbachev himself that incompetent handling of the issue can "strike rather deep wounds.” „. . ■ Byelorussian is where Russian has made its greatest inroads. A

campaign in defence of the native language has developed in the republic’s press. Hundreds of letters have been pouring in. Next door, in the Ukraine, the language is under less of a threat, but local writers want legal safeguards for it. In April the weekly “Literatuma Ukraina” disclosed that little over half of the republic’s schoolchildren are taught in Ukrainian, although 74 per cent of its 50 million inhabitants are Ukrainians. In the capital, Kiev, almost 70 per cent of the people are Ukrainian, but only 23 per cent of school children are taught in that language. Ivan Drach, a poet, abused the schools before the Ukrainian writers’ union, arguing with passion that the Ukrainian language and its literature had become.a subject for derision and mockery. Similar assertiveness is evident

in the Baltic republics. There have been calls for compulsory Latvian lessons for that republic’s large non-Latvian population. Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians all want more discussion of their national histories. Fewer grumbles on the language issue seem to come from the central Asian republics, though the recent rioting in Kazakhstan showed what can happen when national sensibilities are hurt Mr Gorbachev has neither acknowledged the non-Russians’ complaints nor hinted at any change of policy. Glasnost has allowed the complaints to be aired. If he does not act on them, Mr Gorbachev risks creating a lot of new dissidents. Copyright — “The Economist”