Getting rid of the consequences of communist ideology in Ukraine has been going on for years and requires a lot of time and effort. And in order not only to get rid of the echoes of the imperialist past of the Soviets, but also to prevent the formation of new pro-Russian metastases in Ukraine, on March 21, the Verkhovna Rada adopted an important bill No. 7253.

Bill No. 7253 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine” On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and Decolonization of Toponymy “was voted in the second reading. 248 deputies cast their votes for it, Channel 24 reports.

What the Law Provides

As stated in the explanatory note to the Law, its project is aimed at decolonization of place names in Ukraine, as well as at streamlining the use of geographical names and symbols of the terrorist country in the settlements of our state.

It prohibits assigning names to geographical objects in Ukraine that exalt, perpetuate, propagate or symbolize the occupying state or its sights, memorable, historical and cultural places, cities, dates, events and figures.

Consequently, on the streets of Ukraine there will no longer be any place for any streets of Pushkin and Moscow squares. Moreover, new toponyms that will glorify Russia, which every day is trying to kill as many Ukrainians as possible and erase our state from the political map of the world as such.

The importance of this decision

For a long time, the imperial-Russian and Soviet systems imposed their toponyms on Ukraine in order to Russify and dissolve Ukrainian identity in the imperial narrative. However, this Law will prevent the continuation of imperialist influence on Ukraine and the blurring of the borders between our people and the aggressor country. It will also contribute to the overthrow of the colonial burden imposed for many decades, and even centuries.

As Roman Lozinsky, People's Deputy from Golos, emphasized, Russia's modern war against Ukraine has exacerbated the issues of Russian imperial and Soviet symbols, which have been trying to oust everything Ukrainian from Ukraine for centuries.

The time has come to do what the state should have done 30 years ago – to give Ukrainian cities names in honor of significant figures in Ukrainian history. We are obliged to send to the dustbin of history hundreds of streets in honor of Pushkins, Suvorovs, Gorkys, Gagarins and Komarovs. If not now, then when? he stressed.

This Law was adopted, in particular, with the aim of:

• to prevent the recurrence of such crimes in the future,
• elimination of the threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security of Ukraine,
• cleansing and improving the domestic public space from the imposed communal-foreign ideologemes,
• secure from the influence of Soviet-Russian narratives on the worldview of Ukrainians,
• establishing historical justice and complete restoration of Ukrainian historical and national toponymy, modernizing it with the names of the newest Heroes in the fight against the enemy.

Interestingly, according to a poll conducted by the Rating sociological group, the idea of renaming streets, whose names are associated with Russia and Russians, in honor of the heroes who are now defending Ukraine, is supported by 92% of Ukrainians. As noted in the explanatory note, this survey was conducted on March 12-13 this year.