All these years I have protested against the plans to raise Russian to the second state language. Then finally I understood that everything was just a political game. It’s only the politicians that need a language debate. The people don’t have any such problems. The differences between Russian and Ukrainian are less than between German and Dutch. In Kiev, I often hear people asking a question in Russian that gets answered in Ukrainian, and no one is bothered in the least.

Article sounds interesting, and if you can get your hands on them, Kurkov’s are definitely worth checking out.

This essay is totally different in tone and style, but it brings to mind a number of things Dubravka Urgresic writes about in her essays. Especially the pieces in Nobody’s Home.