Former Host of Orthodox TV Channel May Become New Language Ombudsman

Among the candidates for the position of Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, the Cabinet of Ministers is considering actor and public figure Oleksandr Zavalskyi, who from 2005 to 2014 worked as a television host on the spiritual and educational channel Glas, affiliated with the informational structures of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). This detail from his biography sparked a wave of criticism on social media, although his candidacy was formally submitted by the Ministry of Justice. This was reported by Glavcom.

It is known that Oleksandr Zavalskyi left Glas in 2014. Nevertheless, the possibility of his appointment drew criticism from several public figures who strongly object to this part of his past:

“The government is proposing as Language Commissioner an actor who, according to the press, worked for years on the ‘Glas’ channel. To me, this is a very telling diagnosis,” wrote public figure and diplomat Danylo Lubkivskyi.

“The clergy-run ‘Glas’ channel in the role of Language Commissioner. A show from Bankova,” commented MP Volodymyr Viatrovych.

“The exceptional cynicism of the current authorities is off the charts, when it turns out that the biography of actor Zavalskyi — a candidate for this position — includes a ‘colorful’ 10-year period working at the Glas channel, which was funded by the Moscow Patriarchate,” said Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.

As for the issue of Ukrainization, Zavalskyi recently stated at a roundtable on language policy:

“It should not be about coercion. People should be inspired, provided with conditions and support, so that they themselves want to speak Ukrainian.”
In this context, he also proposed conducting a professional study of the reasons behind the population’s use of Russian in order to “more effectively plan measures to gently restore the status of the Ukrainian language.”

It was earlier reported that a cross-party parliamentary group titled “For Christian Values” has been formed in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The initiative, which includes both MPs and civil society representatives, is aimed at strengthening the spiritual, moral, and cultural foundations of Ukrainian society. This was announced by lawyer and civil sector participant Nazar Yaremchuk, who also sent an informational appeal to Christian members of parliaments in other countries.