Russia’s centuries-long war against the Ukrainian language as, perhaps, the most powerful element of the national identity, is becoming ever more apparent now. In the occupied territories, the invaders are outright banning Ukrainian, e.g. school children have been prohibited from speaking in Ukrainian in Mariupol, even during the intervals between classes.
Linguicide is part of Russian colonial politics, dating back as far as four centuries ago. We summed up the key events in the history of bans and restrictions Russia has imposed against the Ukrainian language – from XVII to XXI century.