The rear region in wartime Ukraine – language policy and the language situation in Transcarpathia

The article highlights the peculiarities of the linguistic and political situation in Zakarpattia as a rear border region of Ukraine during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Attention is drawn to the fact of acute challenges and, at the same time, new opportunities for the country as a whole and for each of its regions in particular, especially for the state language policy and institutions involved in its implementation. Examples of successful implementation of projects in the field of language policy are given, including the adoption of regional programs for the establishment and development of the Ukrainian language as the state language and other initiatives. The author emphasizes the change in the language situation in the region due to the active emigration of local residents of Transcarpathia, in particular from among the representatives of national minorities, while the population is replenished by internal migrants. The main reasons for this situation are, on the one hand, the low level of socio-economic development of the region in the pre-war period, and on the other hand, the security factor associated with the war in Ukraine. It is noted that the language issue in the region continues to be used for manipulative purposes. This is evidenced by the monitoring of all-Ukrainian and regional media content during the war and the analysis of language biographies concluded with representatives of national minorities in Zakarpattia during 2021–2023 as part of the international research project “Debates on Linguistic Diversity - Managing Minority Languages in Post-Soviet Ukraine”. Important conditions for the return of Ukrainian citizens after the war are the adoption of a law on multiple citizenship in Ukraine, as well as the creation of conditions in the region for the proper mastery of Ukrainian as the state language and the coordination of efforts by government officials and NGOs to study the current needs of ethnic communities and develop a work plan for the implementation of the necessary programs and activities.