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10 July 2026, 16:42
Akzent investigated why the language issue has become so contentious in Odesa
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The language issue has flared up again in Odesa; specifically, following the scandal over Russian-language songs at the Passage, the city is discussing a possible moratorium on the public use of Russian-language cultural content.
Akcent examined the positions of both sides.
City Councilmember Olga Kvasnytska initiated a draft resolution in the city council to ban the use of the Russian language in public spaces. The issue was to be considered at a city council session, which did not take place.
I think the issue is that there are more people sitting here in this session hall who either don’t understand or are deliberately destabilizing the situation in Ukrainian Odesa. Given the full-scale invasion, given how many missiles are flying—including toward Odesa—cities destroyed, children killed, printing presses with Ukrainian books burned down. This is a sign, I believe, for each of us that we must do everything to ensure that in the public sphere—and I’m emphasizing exclusively the public sphere of our city—no Russian songs are played, no Russian poems are recited, and so on, neither in theaters, in our restaurants, and in bars, of course, because today we face a major threat to national security.
Olga Kvasnytska
Anna Nerush, a representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, emphasized that sometimes the public lacks certain information to understand what is being discussed.
That is, we’re talking about a moratorium on Russian-language cultural products—exclusively on Russian-language cultural products. Specifically, this isn’t just talk; it’s a definition of what constitutes a cultural product. It’s clear; it’s in Ukraine’s Law on Culture. So what interests us most are—um—performances, songs, theatrical productions, and books. Well, these are probably the categories with the highest number of complaints we receive at the Secretariat of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language; this is a rather significant issue. We’re talking exclusively about this. In other words, the public sphere and the private sphere are clearly distinguished.
Anna Nerush
Anna Paikina, founder of the Odessa ethno-band “Legid,” wrote on her Facebook page about the inappropriateness of such music at mass public events; she insists that, 12 years into the war, it is generally inappropriate to listen to Russian music at all.
