Newly uncovered documents show that Moscow secretly financed and directed the campaign behind Ukraine’s highly controversial 2012 language law, years before Russian forces crossed the border under the pretext of protecting Russian speakers.
The legislation, widely condemned by critics as a vehicle for accelerating the russification of Ukraine, was promoted by Ukrainian lawmakers who petitioned a Russian state foundation for nearly two million rubles to fund an alternative report accusing Ukraine of violating European language rights. The foundation approved approximately 1.25 million rubles for the project.
The correspondence between a Ukrainian lawmaker and the head of the Russian foundation reveals a relationship extending beyond mere financial sponsorship. The foundation’s director provided explicit tactical instructions on how to shape the report, including advice that the English-language version sent to Council of Europe monitors should be deliberately altered from the original Russian text to make it harder for Ukrainian authorities to rebut.
In candid correspondence, the Ukrainian lawmaker described the report’s true objective as applying political pressure on the Ukrainian government. The final report was published as a book acknowledging the Russian foundation’s backing, with a foreword by the law’s co-author.
Seven months after the language law was adopted, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded both co-authors state honors for popularizing the Russian language abroad during a televised ceremony in Moscow.
The cross-border coordination continued after the law’s passage. In 2013, the same lawmaker sought an additional two million rubles from the Russian foundation to produce a brochure instructing citizens on how to use the new law to broaden the use of Russian in courts, schools, and official paperwork.
Ukraine’s Constitutional Court struck down the law in 2018, ruling it unconstitutional. However, references to the defunct legislation have continued to surface in later court decisions, demonstrating the lasting impact of Moscow’s influence campaign.