You're reading: New York Times: In Ukraine, official quits to protest bill on Russian

MOSCOW — The chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament resigned on July 4 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 Kyiv, the capital.

The chairman, Volodymyr M. Lytvyn, said Parliament acted illegitimately
in adopting the bill, and tendering his resignation temporarily blocks
it from reaching President Viktor F. Yanukovich, who could sign it into law.

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