Gallop Poll about the native language in Ukraine

What might be the motivation behind the proclamation in 1996 of Ukrainian as the sole state language of the country by the Ukrainian Constitution, is a matter of discussion, but in doing so the founding fathers planted a mine under Ukrainian “independence” that was bound to explode one day like it did.

There are approximately 20 languages spoken in Ukraine. According to the 2001 census, 67% of the population speak Ukrainian and 30% speak Russian as their first language. The census relied upon answers to the direct question about one’s mother tongue. The Wikipedia is mistaken here, because the most important questions in public opinion polling techniques are indirect questions, as it was demonstrated by Gallop Poll. So, to the direct question “Which language do you consider your native?” very often an incorrect answer follows. The results of the Gallop Poll for 2008 are clear: the native language for the overwhelming number of citizens of Kazakhstan (68%), Ukraine (83%) and Belarus (92%) is Russian.