President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on condemnation and prohibition of propaganda of Russian imperial policy in Ukraine and toponymic decolonization.
This is reported on Parliament’s website.
The law enters into force three months after its publication. Throughout this time, the Cabinet of Ministers shall prepare a regulatory framework for the implementation of its provisions.
According to the norms of the adopted law, the production, distribution, or public use of symbols of Russian imperial policy in Ukraine are banned.
The symbols of Russian imperial policy include:
Monuments dedicated to persons who held leading positions in government and administration bodies, political organizations, parties, armed formations of Russia’s state entities and participated in or contributed to the implementation of Russian imperial policy;
Monuments dedicated to persons who publicly supported, glorified, or justified Russian imperial policy, as well as promoted Russification or Ukrainophobia;
Names of geographical objects and local toponymic names in honor of the said persons, or names in honor of Russian cities and other geographical, historical, and cultural objects of Russia;
Flags and anthems of Russia’s state entities.
In compliance with the requirements of the law, state authorities and local self-government bodies must remove from public space monuments dedicated to persons involved in the implementation of Russian imperial policy, as well as rename streets, squares, parks, and geographical objects that contain symbols of Russian imperial policy.
Legal entities, political parties, other associations of citizens that have symbols of Russian imperial policy in their name or statutory documents shall bring their charters, names and/or symbols into compliance with this Law within one month from the date it enters into force.
In addition, the law stipulates that geographical objects with Russified names must bring them into line with the Ukrainian spelling or return the historical name.
