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Processes ofdecolonization inUkraine began during thedissolution of the Soviet Union and accelerated during theRevolution of Dignity, theRusso-Ukrainian War and especially theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[1]
The term as used by the people of Ukraine is generally collective, encompassing bothdecommunization andderussification in the country.[2]
During the war, the main component of Ukraine's politics of memory is decolonization, as a continuation of decommunization, which began in 2015, and deRussification, which was launched by some local authorities and right-wing activists after the Russian invasion. Decolonization of memory involves the removal of symbols from the public space, including names and memorial signs that are viewed as markers of Russian imperial policy. Ukraine aims to distance itself from the influence of Russian historiography, create its own national historical narrative, and develop politics of memory connected with the European tradition only. The intended outcome of decolonization is to sever the cultural and historical ties between Ukraine and Russia, thereby impede anyone from considering Ukrainians and Russians as "brotherly nations", especially the younger generations.[2]
Implementation of the decolonisation politics involves several components:[3]
- Legislative regulation of historical memory. It has been legally implemented through fourUkrainian decommunization laws, as well as the 2023 law "On the Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and the Decolonization of Toponymy".[4][5]
- Destruction of monuments, renaming of toponyms (as part ofdecommunization andderussification). Following the full-scale invasion, monuments and toponyms associated with Russia and the USSR began to be perceived as markers of the invader, through which the empire "branded" its territory.
- Installation of monuments to the victims of Russian aggression.
- Reevaluation of holidays.
- Modifications in the school history curriculum. The colonial status of Ukraine within the Russian Empire and USSR becomes the central narrative.
- Removal of Russian and Soviet literature from libraries.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Деколонізація України. Чим небезпечний "імперський спадок Росії"".Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved2020-03-12.
- ^abLatysh 2023, p. 38.
- ^Latysh 2023, pp. 38–39.
- ^"Що таке деколонізація, чому вона важлива і як буде здійснюватися згідно з законом?".www.ukrinform.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved2023-03-29.
- ^"Президент України підписав закон про деколонізацію топонімів – DW – 22.04.2023".dw.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved2023-06-08.
Sources
edit- Latysh, Yurii (2023). ""Get away from Moscow!": Main Trends of Ukraine's Politics of Memory during the Russo-Ukrainian War". In Bazhenova, Hanna (ed.).Russia's War in Ukraine: Implications for the Politics of History in Central and Eastern Europe(PDF). Lublin: Instytut Europy Środkowej (Institute of Central Europe).ISBN 978-83-67678-37-7.
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