Ukrainian decommunization laws

Main article: Decommunization in Ukraine

Ukrainian decommunization laws were passed in 2015, in the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War. These laws relate to decommunization as well as commemoration of Ukrainian history,[1] and have been referred to as "memory laws".[2][3] They outlawed the public display of Soviet communist symbols and propaganda, and outlawed the public display of Nazi symbols and propaganda.[4] These laws have also restricted the public display of militarism and fascism symbols, including rising sun flag.

As a result of the law mandating the removal of communist-era monuments, and renaming places associated with communists or the USSR in general. As result, Ukraine's toponymy was radically changed, with many pre-1917 names restored and even more Ukrainianized names introduced.[5] More than 51,493 settlements, streets, squares and buildings have been renamed.[6]

The laws have raised some concerns about freedom of speech, as well as international concerns that they honor some organizations and individuals that participated in the mass murder of Jews, Poles, and Communists during the Holocaust in Ukraine and massacres in Volhynia.

  1. ^ Kiev, Lily Hyde in (2015-04-20). "Ukraine to rewrite Soviet history with controversial 'decommunisation' laws". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  2. ^ "The Historian Whitewashing Ukraine's Past". Foreign Policy. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  3. ^ Nikolay Koposov (12 October 2017). Memory Laws, Memory Wars. Cambridge University Press. pp. 201–. ISBN 978-1-108-41972-7.
  4. ^ "Rada bans Communist, Nazi propaganda in Ukraine". Interfax-Ukraine. 9 April 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference 36396854dUBBCn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference UINR16117 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).