Kyiv National University withdraws teaching job offer to designer over Russian-language blog

Withdrawal of job offer

Motion designer Oleksandr Stepenko, a specialist in creating video from graphics, described a situation in which Kyiv National University withdrew his candidacy for a teaching position. The hiring initiative had emerged earlier, but the decision was reconsidered after the university learned of the existence of his Russian-language blog.

University reaction

According to the designer, representatives of the educational institution conveyed a response acknowledging his professional achievements but expressing dissatisfaction with the language issue.

«Сказали, що ви, звичайно, чудовий спеціаліст, але ведете російськомовний блог, і нас це не влаштовує» ("They said that you are, of course, a wonderful specialist, but you run a Russian-language blog, and we are not happy about it"), the man quoted the dialogue with university representatives.

Teaching plans

Oleksandr Stepenko emphasised that his intentions regarding the educational process did not involve the use of the Russian language. In comments, he clarified that he planned to deliver lectures in Ukrainian.