Michael Moser is professor of Slavic linguistics at the Institute for Slavic Studies of the University of Vienna, the Ukrainian Free University in Munich, and the Pàzmàny Péter Catholic University in Budapest and Piliscsaba.

Andreas Umland is Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for European Security in the Institute of International Relations at Prague, Principal Researcher of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation at Kyiv, and General Editor of the ibidem-Verlag book series “Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society”.

“A book that dwells on the mystery how a topic ranking 31st out of 33 issues worrying Ukrainians can threaten the integrity of Ukraine. In his meticulous analysis, Michael Moser reveals how the language question is used, misused and abused by irresponsible politicians. A must-read for anyone interested in East European politics!” -- Yaroslav Hrytsak, Professor of History, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv

“Michael Moser has written the definitive account of language policy under Yanukovych. This superb book offers a dispassionate, measured, and detailed analysis of how both Ukrainian and Russian have fared in independent Ukraine. Moser understands language and Moser understands policy, and he manages to combine both skills in an utterly persuasive monograph that will set the standard for Ukrainian language and policy studies for years to come.” -- Alexander J. Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, Newark

“Michael Moser has made a name for himself with his incisive and multidimensional publications on the Ukrainian language, its speakers, history, and the politics involved. Language having become the cornerstone of nationhood and statehood in many areas of modern Europe, is a highly politicized issue in independent Ukraine, bearing a salient imprint on Kyiv’s foreign relations, especially with Russia. The monograph usefully chronicles and analyzes the current Ukrainian administration’s attempt at making the country officially bilingual; de facto, with Russian accorded the privileged language vis-à-vis Ukrainian relegated to the status of a minority language – a scenario already tried out in Belarus since 1995. The difference is that in Ukraine it is happening with the curious employment of the Council of Europe’s minority rights legislation.” -- Tomasz Kamusella, Lecturer in Modern History, University of St. Andrews, Scotland