Away from Russia. Ukraine starts large -scale decolonization: how, when and what touches
The Verkhovna Rada passed a law that provides decolonization processes that last in Ukraine, legitimate boundaries and determines effective mechanisms. After signing the president, this will not only be a set of public initiatives (their relevance does not decrease!), But purposeful state policy.
That is, we have a situation similar to the decommunization: the start of the spontaneous Leninopad, the adoption of a package of laws, their implementation with the participation of authorities and the public. But this is not surprising, because decolonization is a logical continuation of decommunization, I always said that it should be the next stage after deprivation of communist heritage.
Therefore, the mechanisms of the new law are borrowed from those approved in 2015 and ensured the purification of Ukraine from the symbolism of the USSR. The need for such policies is not only due to the desire to restore historical justice when we are deprived of our country from outside the occupiers, what has displaced the memory of the Ukrainian past and traditions. The main motif is now safety.
Russia uses its own imperial heritage to preserve, restore and strengthen the imperial influence on our state. The common names of streets and settlements, monuments, and the same traditions for it are an argument in favor of the thesis underlying the current aggression: "Ukrainians are one people with the Russians. " If one people, then the Ukrainian state is a mistake or unnecessary and harmful fiction or Austrian General Staff, or Lenin or NATO.
Therefore, decolonization in Ukraine is now liberation from imperial heritage used to restore imperial influence. This is the draft law 7253 "On condemnation and prohibition of propaganda of Russian imperial policy in Ukraine and the decolonization of toponymy". A brief history of the bill. He was registered in April 2022 by several dozen deputies. The initial text was very small and provided only a ban on giving geographical names related to Russia. That is, only new place names.
The profile committee on the organization of state power and self -government has expanded the project before reading the second decolonization bill. The changes were worked out with the participation of experts, in particular the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory. Therefore, a substantially revised and extended bill was brought to the hall. Unfortunately, during the first vote, the pro -Russian deputy Buzhansky managed to fail his adoption, so he was sent for revision.
But now he gained 248 votes for 226 needed. Legal terms related to Russian imperial policy and its propaganda are defined. Russian imperial policy is condemned, its propaganda is forbidden (this applies to all forms of Russian statehood from the Moscow kingdom to Russia, including the USSR).
It is forbidden to promote the symbolism of Russian imperial policy, exceptions are determined (the structure of these articles of the law is similar to the structure of relevant articles of the law on decommunization). It is about Russia's symbolism in all its historical forms.
The law defines the historical forms of existence of Russia: the Russian kingdom (Moscow kingdom), the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, the Russian state, the Russian socialist Soviet Republic, the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The characteristics of the figures related to the planting of Russian imperial policy were determined: they held leadership positions in the authorities and management, political organizations, parties, armed formations of Russia, territorial entities, administrative and territorial units, including unrecognized imperial policy on occupied, annexed, or otherwise occupied by Russia (in all its historical forms) and who participated or contributed to the implementation of Russian imperial policy, to the employees of Soviet bodies of state security at all levels.
a) any image of state flags, coats of arms and other symbols associated with Russia; b) hymns or fragments; c) images, monuments, memorials, inscriptions dedicated to Russian imperial figures; d) images, monuments, memorials, inscriptions dedicated to persons who are publicly, including in the media, in literary and other works of art, supported, glorified or justified Russian imperial policies, called for Russification or Ukrainophobia; e) images, monuments, memorials, inscriptions dedicated to events related to the implementation of Russian imperial policy; e) images of slogans, quotations of Russian imperial figures and those who are public, including in the media, in literary and other artistic works, supported, glorified or justified Russian imperial policies, called for Russification or Ukrainophobia; e) images, inscriptions related to the glorification and justification of Russian imperial policy; g) toponymics (names of cities and villages, streets, etc.
), names of legal entities in the territory of Ukraine, which are assigned: exceptions to symbols dedicated to persons dedicated to the protection of political, economic, cultural rights of the Ukrainian people, the development of Ukrainian national statehood, science , culture or with the culture of enslaved peoples of the Russian Federation. The public space of Ukraine will be deprived of traces of the presence of Russian imperial propaganda. Monuments and other images must be dismantled.
Objects (geographical names, toponymics, organizations, trademarks, etc. ) should be renamed. Legal entities (parties, public organizations, etc. ) in case of violation of the requirements of the Law on the submission of the Ministry of Justice are subject to a prohibition.
The law amended a number of related laws, in particular "On Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services", "On Local State Administrations", "On Political Parties in Ukraine", "On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individuals-Entrepreneurs and Public formations "," On geographical names "," On information "," On public associations "," On the assignment of legal entities and objects of ownership of names (pseudonyms) of individuals, anniversary and holiday dates, names and dates of historical events "," On the legal status and memory of independence fighters in the twentieth century.
" The law should yet be signed by the President. It will come into force 3 months after the official publication. After that, the deadline for compliance with the requirements of the law will begin. One month: legal entities should be renamed and changed symbolism, and bring constituent documents in accordance with the law. Three months: Owners should change trademarks and trademarks.
Half a year: local councils, military administrations should dismantle symbolism and carry out all the necessary renaming. Further, the anti -sabotage mechanism, as in the law on decommunization - is given for three months to perform these actions by the heads of the communities, then three months - the heads of the ODA.
The Parliament for the submission of self -government bodies, military administrations and recommendations of the Institute of National Memory is renamed settlements and districts in accordance with the requirements of the law. The National State Language Commission will publish a list of settlements whose names do not meet the standards of the state language, the Verkhovna Rada will rename them on the basis of the commission recommendations.
The adoption of the project does not mean the completion of decolonization. On the contrary, everything really starts. The law not only obliges the authorities to join this important job, but also gives important tools to the public, everyone is indifferent. Therefore, the work is really enough for everyone, and it can unite all Ukrainians who want to live in an independent flowering state.
At one time, decommunization became perhaps the most reformed reform, because for every new name of streets, lanes, squares, villages and cities, public discussions were held. Citizens not just searched for new names, it was a large -scale conversation about values, about good and evil, about the inevitability of punishment for committed, although not convicted in the usual order of crimes. This was our "Anti -Communist Nuremberg".
Decommunization in Ukraine was late, but still a timely policy that allowed us to stop the inevitable flywheel of the rule of "unbroken evil grows". After the "democratic moment" in the early 1990s, Russia deliberately returned to the usual and necessary for its existence as an empire the path of autocracy, totalitarianism, wars and crimes against humanity.
But the decommunized space and, as we saw, Modus vivendi Ukrainians contributed to the fact that the Russians wandered our territories, looking for them "Kirov" and "Lenin", in vain, waiting for a friendly reception. We knew whom and what we were protecting, because at that time, calling the streets with our names, we returned the symbolic ownership of their land. In decolonization, we deepen this global task of self -identification, the search for real.