You do know most Ukrainians speak Russian as a first language.
It’s like the Irish. Most speak English, not Gaelic as their first language. The Ukrainian Language is like Gaelic.
My teacher and mentor in the Scribal Arts is from Romania, and he speaks Russian and not a word of Yiddish. I don’t know if he speaks Romanian, since I never heard him. We communicate in Hebrew, though he can speak English in a pinch. Seems that Russian is to the former Soviet Empire as Latin was to the Roman, and English is to the former British Empire. Everyone speaks it.
Yes, I am pointing out the obvious cultural, historical and linguistic connections which most here seem to ignore.
Don’t tell it to the Ukrainians. They ‘ll tell it is the opposite even though they are going to switch to Russian after coming back home.
Yep. Ukrainian movies and TV shows are filmed in Russian. Ukrainian pop stars sing in Russian. If you want to have an audience for your entertainment, you speak Russian.
Another reason why it was such a slap in the face to vast segments of the population when they made Ukrainian the official language. Not every Ukrainian speaks it. Everyone speaks Russian.