The investigation established that Russia allocated funds to support and promote the so-called “Kivalov-Kolesnichenko language law,” which effectively elevated the status of the Russian language in Ukraine to that of a state language. The funding occurred both before and after the law was adopted and covered the organization of public events, publication of articles in the media, and the production of printed materials for Ukrainian and international audiences. The aim of this activity was political pressure on the Ukrainian government.
This is reported by Kyiv24
How funding and influence occurred
According to the journalistic investigation, the funding came from the Russian state organization “Pravfond,” which is involved in supporting compatriots abroad. Documents obtained and verified by journalists indicate that the people’s deputy from the “Party of Regions” Vadim Kolesnichenko received funds from “Pravfond” for activities aimed at promoting the language law. In particular, in February 2012, six months before the law was adopted, Kolesnichenko appealed to “Pravfond” requesting 1.9 million rubles (about 65 thousand dollars at the then exchange rate) for writing, printing, and distributing an alternative report on Ukraine’s non-compliance with the Council of Europe international treaty – the “European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,” which had been in effect in Ukraine since 2006. The Verkhovna Rada excluded the Russian language from the list of languages protected by this charter only in 2025.
The “Kivalov-Kolesnichenko law” used provisions of the charter to legalize the widespread use of the Russian language in Ukraine. According to the documents, Kolesnichenko received 1.2 million rubles (almost 41 thousand dollars) from “Pravfond” for the publication of the report in Ukrainian and English, expert fees, and a large-scale media information campaign.
Mechanisms of influence and dissemination of materials
Investigators found that Kolesnichenko received not only financial support but also direct instructions regarding the content of materials from the head of “Pravfond” Igor Panyevkin. There was even discussion about involving the Russian Foreign Ministry in translating documents into English. In correspondence, Kolesnichenko explicitly stated that the purpose of these reports was political pressure on the Ukrainian authorities.
“It was written in such a way that in fact, the Russian language could be used not alongside the Ukrainian language, but instead of the Ukrainian language,” explained language policy researcher Volodymyr Kulyk in a conversation with “Schemes.”
Besides Kolesnichenko, his assistant Ruslan Bortnik and Serhiy Kivalov, who wrote the introductory word, participated in preparing the report. According to Bortnik, he was unaware of the Russian funding. The investigation also established that this was not the only subsidy from “Pravfond” for promoting the language law. In 2013, the fund allocated over two million rubles (approximately 65 thousand dollars) for publishing a brochure for “Russian compatriots” in Ukraine, which contained instructions on using the law, particularly in documentation, courts, and education.
The brochure was distributed among Ukrainian government agencies, international organizations, and presented in Kyiv with the participation of another co-author of the law – Serhiy Kivalov. However, the event was rescheduled, and Kivalov was replaced by Mykhailo Tovt, who co-authored the brochure along with Stepan Chernychko – then the vice-rector of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute, and now a deputy of the Transcarpathian Regional Council.
In the brochure, the authors, according to journalists, encouraged the use of Russian in the service sector, for example, advocating for the right of waiters to serve clients exclusively in Russian. For preparing comments on the brochure, Chernychko and Tovt received 5,000 hryvnias each (at that time 600 dollars).
Stepan Chernychko stated that he was unaware of the Russian funding and explained that the acknowledgment on the first page of the brochure was expressed on behalf of Vadim Kolesnichenko’s organization, not the authors. Mykhailo Tovt, who is now referred to as a constitutional lawyer and head of a charitable foundation, also denied knowledge of the source of funding for the brochure, although he did not rule out that it could have been “Pravfond.” According to him, his position on the Russian language in Ukraine has changed over time, although he remains an advocate for the full rights of national minorities.
After Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in 2014, the Verkhovna Rada voted to repeal the “Kivalov-Kolesnichenko law,” but the decision did not take effect as acting president Oleksandr Turchynov did not sign it until a new language law was adopted. It was not until 2018 that the Constitutional Court declared this law unconstitutional.