MOSCOW — The chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament resigned Wednesday after refusing to sign a contentious bill that would allow local and regional governments to grant official status to Russian and other languages, while hundreds of opponents of the measure clashed violently with riot police officers in Kiev, the capital.
Ukrainian vs. Russian Language
New York Times: Top Ukrainian lawmaker quits to protest Russian-language bill
Opposition protesters shout slogans and beat the drums during the march in central Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, July 5, 2012. About 1,000 opposition activists were rallying in the capital of Ukraine on Thursday to protest legislation upgrading the status of the Russian language. The Ukrainian parliament passed the bill Tuesday that would allow the use of Russian in courts, education and other government institutions in Russian-speaking regions of the country. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
