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Lukashenko upholds status of Russian language in Belarus

The Russian language is the national pride of the three nations - Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Alexander Lukashenko says

Alexander Lukashenko ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Petrov

Alexander Lukashenko

© ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Petrov

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Lukashenko: Russia has no reason to fear Western sanctions

MINSK, April 22. /ITAR-TASS/. President Alexander Lukashenko has upheld the status of the Russian language in Belarus in his annual State of the Nation Address on Tuesday.

"There is no other place in the world where the Russian language, the great Russian culture are honored as much as in Belarus. We gave the Russian language a status of a state language when humiliating Russia and Russian citizens had been a norm in the post-Soviet space," he said.

“Quite a few attempts were undertaken to explode peace in Belarus, but all of them failed. Today, one may hear surprising things that either ethnic Russians or the Russian language have been allegedly infringed upon in Belarus. One can hardly think of anything sillier than that,” the president said. “If we lose the Russian language, we will lose our brains,” Lukashenko stressed.

“The Russian language is the national pride of the three nations - Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, and all the other nationals who lived with us in the same country in the past. This is a reminder to all those who want to privatize Russian. It is our common language, rather than a privilege of Russia or Ukraine. This is a living treasure shared by Belarus as well," Lukashenko said.

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