Ethnic Ukrainians in Russia say about oppression of their civil rights
KYIV, March 14 /Ukrinform/. Ethnic Ukrainians in Russia, who according to official figures number about two million, suffer from the oppression of their rights.
Mykhailo Ratushny, Chairman of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council has said this at a round table on “The situation with Ukrainians in Russia.”
“According to the official census in 2010, about two million people have stated that they are Ukrainians by origin. Although, we know that the situation is such that being Ukrainian in Russia is not simply inconvenient, but often dangerous. So, in reality, there are more such people. We believe that the figure around 4.5 million people is absolutely real. In the Russian Federation there is no Ukrainian schools, kindergartens, the opportunity to receive information via Ukrainian TV channels, radio stations, there is not a full-fledged federal newspaper or other printed publication. Moreover, Russia does not have a federal organization that would represent the interests of the Ukrainian minority,” he said.
Ratushny stressed that Ukrainians in Russia are actually deprived of the rights of ethnic minorities, guaranteed both by Russian and international law.
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