Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed two landmark laws banning Russian place names and mandating knowledge of the Ukrainian language and history for citizenship. The moves are seen as Ukraine’s latest steps away from a long legacy of Russian hegemony.
It’s an increasingly emotive issue since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. The move signals how aggressively Ukraine’s government has become in protecting its cultural identity amid a conflict shaped by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts.
Already, countless streets across Ukraine have been renamed. Although efforts to wipe out old Russian names have been ongoing since the fall of the Soviet Union, they are only now accelerating since the start of the war in February 2022.
A law signed by Zelenskiy on Friday prohibits the use of place names that perpetuate, promote or symbolize the occupying regime or its notable, memorable, historical and cultural sites, cities, dates, events and individuals who have carried out military aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s parliament said in a statement posted on the Telegram app that the law would take effect in three months, after which local authorities would have six months to free public space from Russian symbols.
A national board will draw up a list of what it considers questionable names, and then local councils in cities and towns must change them. The Act states that if the elected members of the local government body cannot agree to this, the head of the body will have the power to change the name.
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2023-04-23 06:52:18
