Sergei Mitrokhin (Yabloko) moved to dismiss Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPR) from the post of Duma deputy speaker. He called Zhirinovsky "a symbol of our national disgrace". But the Unity faction opposed punishing the foul-mouthed politician. Galina Strelchenko, chairwoman of the Duma ethics commission, claimed that many Duma members, when abroad, say things they ought not to say. For some unknown reason, she mentioned the name of human rights activist Sergei Kovalev...

The Duma refused to discuss Zhirinovsky 's behaviour: the majority voted down the motion. It is not surprising, as the previous day there had been rumours that the Kremlin had requested the Duma not to raise a scandal over the issue. After all, Zhirinovsky is by no means useless for the Kremlin. He always votes as he is told, and in elections he collects the votes of marginal voters who might otherwise support the Communists.

The law on the Russian language bans the use of "colloquial, disparaging and obscene words or expressions" in the activities of the state authorities, as well as all other organizations; it was passed due to the efforts of the centrists. The Communists, the Union of Right-Wing Forces, and Yabloko voted against it.

Boris Nadezhdin (leader of the SPS faction) said: "Our schools simply ought to teach the language better. It is futile to pass such laws, which are not binding on anyone. (It is worth noting that the law provides no punitive measures for foul language in public.)

Sergei Mitrokhin (Yabloko) expressed bewilderment: the law forbids the use of "foreign words if there are common analogs in the Russian language". But the word "analog" itself is also of foreign origin.

*** Yesterday Sergei Mitrokhin commented in detail on the newly adopted law for us.

Question: Does this mean that from now on we can't call the president "president", as this is a foreign word - we have to use the Russian term for "head of state" instead. And "speaker" is out, as well as "deputy"?

Mitrokhin:Yes that seems to be what it means. We voted against this law, as it is outright stupidity. The law on Russian language isn't actually written in good Russian. Moreover, it encroaches on the rights of ethnic government bodies within the Russian Federation. For instance, Buryatia calls its parliament the "Khural" - the new law would seem to make this illegal, so it should be renamed "People's Duma". And all geographic names of foreign origin will have to be changed!

Question: How do you think the law will be applied in practice?

Mitrokhin: I can only think of one use for it: to keep a tighter rein on the media. For instance, what happens if a newspaper publishes an interview with a peasant - whose language is mostly rough and colloquial. That could be a pretext for shutting down the newspaper. Currently, the penalty for breaking this law is a fine. But I am certain that in future some other punitive measures will be introduced.

Question: Duma members approved the bill - they must be ready then to purify their own speech.

Mitrokhin:Yes, Zhirinovsky and Mitrofanov in particular. I am sure that no one will actually cut down their use of "taboo words". But if Duma members are seriously intent on penalizing all law-breakers, then the Duma ethics commission - incidentally, the chairwoman supported Vladimir Zhiriinovsky today - will have volumes of evidence to consider.

See also:

Press Release. February 5, 2003. The law "On the State Language of the Russian Federation" violates the rights of the citizens and mass media.

Moskovsky Komsomolets, February 6, 2003