BEIJING, October 10. /TASS/. The Russian-speaking organizations in Ukraine have been practically denied an opportunity to express their opinion in the Ukrainian mass media, Coordinator of the all-Ukrainian Council of Russian compatriots Sergey Provatorov told the 22nd congress of the World Council of Russian Compatriots.
"We have problems with print shops; because of the recent developments the print shops’ staff are afraid to publish our editions. I have a newspaper which is circulated among 3,000 subscribers. If anything disliked by the authorities is published, the newspaper becomes dangeours to its subscribers who have been traced through post offices and blacklisted: thus, we might put several thousand subscribers at risk.”
“Talking about Russia has become dangerous in Ukraine, especially on everyday problems, which is even more criticized than talking in a political sense. We cannot talk in a taxi now; first, one has to find out what the driver's position is. Therefore, many try to avoid any discussion of the situation in the country altogether," Provatorov said.
The World Council of Russian Compatriots is a representative body of the World Congress of Compatriots. The Council carries on a regular dialogue with the governmental commission for the affairs of compatriots abroad, federal and regional bodies of power of the Russian Federation, representatives of traditional confessions, non-governmental organizations in Russia and abroad. The Council promotes consolidation of the Russian-speaking community abroad and defends its interests.