in Dnipro, residents do everything to stop speaking Russian

In this evening with friends in Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine with a large majority of Russian speakers, everyone speaks Russian. Even if she tries to progress in Ukrainian, Iulia is not ready to give up. “My native language, that of my ancestors, is Russian, she says. I want to keep talking about it. I want my children to speak it. Despite the war, I want to keep the Russian language in me to have the possibility of perpetuating the tradition of my ancestors.” So far it hasn’t caused him any problems.

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This conflict nevertheless highlights a patriotic impulse which also involves greater use of Ukrainian in everyday life. “Now I communicate more in Ukrainian with my Ukrainian-speaking clients.highlighted Dimitri present at this same evening. His father is Russian, his mother Ukrainian, and he has decided to change his practice since the beginning of the war. “Even if my clients tell me: ‘Switch to Russian because we see that you have trouble communicating in Ukrainian’, I tell them, no! I need to practice.”

Reclaiming her language, out of national pride and as an act of war, is exactly what Lila does. “Speaking in Ukrainian is a very small part of what I can do to strengthen my countryexplains this resident of Dnipro. Sooner or later people will switch to Ukrainian. Maybe not this generation, but the one after. There are more and more Ukrainian schools.” And in this linguistic war, the city of Dnipro also takes its part. “We have changed the names of about thirty streets, confirms Mirailo Lysenko, deputy mayor in charge of planning.

“There were Russian names or controversial figures including Soviet ones that have no connection with the city.”

Mirailo Lysenko, deputy mayor of Dnipro

at franceinfo

“Most [des rues] took the name of our martyred cities and others took the name of important Ukrainian personalities, concludes Mirailo Lysenko. The new plates are being manufactured. In a few weeks, the passage Moscovite will thus become passage Azovstal, named after this metallurgical factory symbol of the resistance of Mariupol.