Artem Sokolov on Vesti.FM on 2019 resonant topics

One of the most resonant topics of the outgoing year became the European Parliament resolution on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe adopted on September 19. It says that World War II was unleashed by Germany and the Soviet Union by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by which two totalitarian regimes divided Europe into two spheres of influence. MEPs also condemned the efforts of the Russian authorities to "whitewash the crimes committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime”, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Artem Sokolov said today in the National Question program on Vesti FM.

The expert noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the decision of the European Parliament, condemned the resolution. "According to him, one can condemn Stalinism and totalitarianism as a whole, and to some extent these reproaches are deserved, however, to equate or juxtapose the Soviet Union and fascist Germany is a height of cynicism," the expert recalled.

According to Vestnik Kavkaza expert, the issue of the Russian language in the CIS countries was an equally important topic of the outgoing year. “In particular, on July 16, the law on the provision of the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language entered into force in Ukraine. According to the document, the Ukrainian language became mandatory for state authorities and local self-governments, educational institutions, hospitals and the service sector. In early October, the Minister of Education and science of Ukraine Anna Novosad said that starting the following school year, schools with the Russian medium of instruction should be dissolved, and children will be taught exclusively in Ukrainian. The Russian communities must adapt to this, and as for the schools with the medium of instruction in EU languages, they should be dissolved by September 2023. The Minister noted that children will still have an opportunity to study native language or literature. "According to her, students will have an opportunity to attend elective classes," the expert said.

"Another important topic is the July decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to which Ukrainians from the Donetsk and Lugansk regions living in Russia can obtain citizenship under a simplified procedure. Recently Putin said that the Russian authorities are considering the possibility of granting citizenship not only to the residents of Donbas but also to all Ukrainians under a simplified procedure,” the analyst said.

In addition, according to the expert, the All-Russian census of the population planned next year is also an important topic. “The work on its preparation has already begun. In particular, the census site has been launched recently. I recall that the All-Russian population census will be held on October 1- 31, 2020 in all regions of the Russian Federation. The main innovation of the upcoming census will be the possibility of filling out the electronic questionnaire on the Unified Portal of Public Services (Gosuslugi.ru). Now we are using 2010 census data, however, this information is not relevant anymore," the expert concluded.