Russian language to be removed from Ukrainian passports: Ombudsman's statement

The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Taras Kremin, has called for the removal of Russian from Ukrainian passports. According to him, the old-style Ukrainian passport must comply with the language law.

Kremin said this at a briefing at the Media Centre of Ukraine. He noted that he would recommend to the Parliament to amend the regulation on the passport of a citizen of Ukraine.

"We are asking to amend the regulation on the passport of a citizen of Ukraine to provide that the passport is drawn up in the state language, in accordance with part one of Article 8 of the language law," he said.

Kremin noted that two forms of passports currently exist in Ukraine in parallel. These are biometric passports and old-style passports, where information about the citizen, his or her residence and the place of issue of the document are recorded in both the state and Russian languages.

"Therefore, we insist on unifying and bringing this paradigm in line with the language law," he explained.

Recall that 52% of Ukrainians believe that Russian should not be taught in schools under any circumstances. 33% of respondents said that less time (or the same amount of time) could be devoted to learning this language as to other foreign languages (e.g. English, German).

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, passing exams will become a prerequisite for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship. Applicants for a Ukrainian passport will have to show their knowledge of the fundamentals of the Constitution of Ukraine, the history of Ukraine, and the level of proficiency in the state language.

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