AZAROV: ALMOST 70 PER CENT OF UKRAINIANS USE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE DAILY

MOSCOW, MAY 19 /SRNA/ - The has not "disappeared" in Ukraine and is used on a daily basis by between 60 and 70 percent of Ukrainians, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov told TASS.

He explained that Russian is the "native" language for Ukrainians, and that it has a very rich vocabulary and that everyone is used to it.

Azarov pointed out that the Ukrainian authorities have tried to eliminate the Russian language and ban a large part of Russian culture, primarily literature in Russian, including the works of great Russian writers such as Nikolai Gogol or Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The former Ukrainian Prime Minister stressed that the current Ukrainian authorities are also engaged in rewriting the history of Ukraine.

"You can deceive people for a long time, but not forever," Azarov concluded.