Decommunization in Ukraine started during and after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991. With the success of the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

in 2014, the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

approved

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

that outlawed

communist symbol Communist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity. Communist states, parties and movements use these symbols to advance and create solidarity within ...

s. On 15 May 2015, President of Ukraine

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...

signed a set of laws that started a six-month period for the removal of communist monuments (excluding

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

monuments) and renaming of public places named after communist-related themes. At the time, this meant that 22 cities and 44 villages were set to get new names. Until 21 November 2015, municipal governments had the authority to implement this; if they failed to do so, the

Oblasts of Ukraine An oblast ( uk, о́бласть; ) in Ukraine, often called a region or province, is the main type of first-level administrative division of the country. Ukraine's territory is divided into 24 oblasts, as well as one autonomous republic, Crimea ...

had until 21 May 2016 to change the names. If after that date the settlement had retained its old name, the

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

would wield authority to assign a new name to the settlement."Komsomolsk in any case be renamed"
'' depo.ua'' (1 October 2015) In 2016, 51,493 streets and 987 cities and villages were renamed, and 1,320

Lenin monuments This article is a list of current and former known monuments of Vladimir Lenin. Many of the monuments in former Soviet republics and satellites were removed after the fall of the Soviet Union, while some of these countries retained the thousands o ...

and 1,069 monuments to other communist figures removed."Decommunization reform: 25 districts and 987 populated areas in Ukraine renamed in 2016"
''

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

'' (27 December 2016) Violation of the law carries a penalty of a potential media ban and prison sentences of up to five years."Ukraine lawmakers ban 'Communist and Nazi propaganda
''

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

'' (9 April 2015)"New laws in Ukraine potential threat to free expression and free media, OSCE Representative says"
''

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

'' (18 May 2015) On 24 July 2015, the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

stripped the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accord ...

, the

Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed) The Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed) ( uk, Комуністична партія України (оновлена); ''Komunistyčna Partija Ukraïny (onovlena),'' KPU(o)) was a political party in Ukraine, formed in November 2000

, and the

Communist Party of Workers and Peasants The Communist Party of Workers and Peasants ( uk, Комуністична партія робітників і селян, ''Komunistychna Partiya Robitnykiv i Selian'', KPRS) was a political party in Ukraine, formed in 2001 following a split from ...

of their right to participate in elections and stated it was continuing the court actions that started in July 2014 to end the registration of

communist parties in Ukraine Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

. By 16 December 2015, these three parties had been banned in Ukraine; the Communist Party of Ukraine appealed the ban to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

, meaning the court's decision to ban the party did not come into force. The April 2015 decommunization law contains a norm that allows the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

to prohibit the party from participating in elections.

History

Lenin statue in Dnipropetrovsk, lateral view

An unofficial

decommunization Decommunization is the process of dismantling the legacies of communist state establishments, culture, and psychology in the post-communist countries. It is sometimes referred to as political cleansing. Although the term has been occasionally ...

process started in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

after the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and the following

independence of Ukraine The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine ( uk, Акт проголошення незалежності України, Akt proholoshennya nezalezhnosti Ukrayiny) was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR on 24 August 1991.

in 1991. Decommunization was carried out much more ruthlessly and visibly in the former Soviet Union's

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

and

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

countries outside the Soviet Union. Ukraine's first president after the country's 1991 independence from the

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

, had also issued orders aimed at " de-sovietisation" in the early 1990s. The following years, although at a slow rate, historical monuments to Soviet leaders were removed in Ukraine; this process went on much further in the Ukrainian-speaking

western regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more spe ...

than in the industrialised, largely Russian-speaking eastern regions. Decommunization laws were drafted in the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

in 2002, 2005, 2009, 2011, and 2013, but they all failed to materialize.Ukrainian PM leads charge to erase Soviet history

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

(27 April 2015) During and after

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

, starting with the fall of the monument to Lenin in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

on 8 December 2013, several Lenin monuments and statues were removed or destroyed by protesters. In April 2014, a year before the formal, nationwide decommunization process in Ukraine local authorities removed and altered communist symbols and place names, as in

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

. On 9 April 2015, the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation on decommunization. It was submitted by the

Second Yatsenyuk Government The second Yatsenyuk government was created in Ukraine after the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election. On 2 December 2014, 288 People's Deputy of Ukraine, members (of the 423 Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

totalitarian regime Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

s". One of the main provisions of the bill was the recognition of the

was "criminal" and one that it "pursued a state terror policy". The legislation prohibits the use of communist symbols and propaganda and also bans all symbols and propaganda of

national-socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

and its values and any activities of

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

groups in Ukraine. The ban applies to monuments, place and street names. The ban does not apply to

monuments and when symbols are located in a cemetery. Expressing pro-communist views was not made illegal. The ban on communist symbols did result in the removal of hundreds of statues, the replacement of millions of street signs and the renaming of populated places including some of Ukraine's biggest cities like

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

. The city administration of

estimated in June 2015 that 80 streets, embankments, squares, and boulevards would have to be renamed. Maxim Eristavi of

Hromadske.TV Hromadske ( uk, Громадське; lit. ''Public'') is a digital broadcasting station in Ukraine that commenced operations on 22 November 2013. The station was announced in June 2013 by 15 journalists, before commencing operations on 22 Novemb ...

estimated late April 2015 that the nationwide renaming would cost around $1.5 billion. The legislation also granted special legal status to veterans of the "struggle for

Ukrainian independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and the Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publ ...

" from 1917 to 1991 (the lifespan of the Soviet Union). The same day, the parliament also passed a law that replaced the term "

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

" in the national

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...

with "

" from 1939 to 1945, a change of great significance. On 15 May 2015,

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

signed the Decommunisation Laws.Poroshenko signed the laws about decomunization

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

. 15 May 2015
Poroshenko signs laws on denouncing Communist, Nazi regimes

Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...

. 15 May 2015 This started a six-month period for the removal of communist monuments and renaming of public places named after communist-related themes. The Ukrainian decommunization law applies, but is not limited to: * the

Flag of the Soviet Union The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), commonly known as the Soviet flag (), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from ...

* the flags of the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

and of the 14 other republics of the Soviet Union, as well as the flags of the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and abroad * the

State Emblem of the Soviet Union The State Emblem of the Soviet Union; be, Дзяржаўны герб СССР; kk, ССРО мемлекеттік елтаңбасы; lt, TSRS Valstybinis herbas; lv, PSRS valsts ģerbonis; et, NSVL riigivapp} was adopted in 1923 and was ...

and its constituent republics as well as the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and abroad * the

State Anthem of the Soviet Union The "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original lyrics were written b ...

and the

republics A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

* the

Red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

* the

Hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...

* images bearing the likeness of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

and

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

* military uniforms The laws were published in ''

Holos Ukrayiny ''Holos Ukrayiny'' ( ua, Голос України, lit=Voice of Ukraine), is a Ukrainian daily newspaper published in Kyiv. Laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are published in Holos Ukrayiny whem they come into force the next day. Hi ...

'' on 20 May 2015; this made them come into force officially the next day. On 3 June 2015, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory published a list of 22 cities and 44 villages subject to renaming. By far most of these places were in the

Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

region in

East Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khark ...

; the others were situated in

Central Ukraine Central Ukraine ( uk, Центральна Україна, ''Tsentralna Ukraina'') consists of historical regions of left-bank Ukraine and right-bank Ukraine that reference to the Dnipro River. It is situated away from the Black Sea Littoral N ...

and

South Ukraine Southern Ukraine ( uk, південна Україна, translit=pivdenna Ukrayina) or south Ukraine refers, generally, to the oblasts in the south of Ukraine. The territory usually corresponds with the Soviet economical district, the Southern E ...

.In Ukraine rename 22 cities and 44 villages

(4 June 2015) Under the ''Decommunisation Laws'' the municipal governments had until 21 November 2015 to change the name of the settlement they govern. For settlements that failed to rename, the

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

authorities had until 21 May 2016 to change the name. If after that date the settlement still retained its old name the

renamed the settlement. In a 24 July 2015 decree based on the decommunization laws, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry stripped the

and

of their right to participate in elections and it stated it was continuing the court actions (that started in July 2014) to end the registration of Ukraine's communist parties. On 30 September 2015, the District Administrative Court in Kyiv banned the parties Communist Party of Workers and Peasants and Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed); they both did not appeal. In October 2015, a statue of Lenin in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

was converted into a statue of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' villain

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

. On 16 December 2015, the Kyiv District Administrative Court validated the claim of the Ministry of Justice in full, banning the activities of the Communist Party of Ukraine. The party appealed this ban at the

. In March 2016, statues of Lenin,

Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky ( pl, Feliks Dzierżyński ; russian: Фе́ликс Эдму́ндович Дзержи́нский; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed "Iron Felix", was a Bolshevik revolutionary and official, born into Poland, Polish n ...

Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (né Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary whose assassination led to the first Great Purge. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and membe ...

and a

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

monument were removed or taken down in the eastern city of

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...

. The statue overlooking the

Dnieper Hydroelectric Station The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station ( uk, ДніпроГЕС, DniproHES; russian: ДнепроГЭС, DneproGES), also known as Dneprostroi Dam, in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, is the largest hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper river. ...

(formerly named Lenin Dam) was the largest remaining Lenin statue in Ukraine. On 19 May 2016, the Ukrainian parliament voted to rename Ukraine's fourth-largest city

to "Dnipro". The renaming of various locations was signed into the law on 20 May 2016. The Ukrainian parliament declared in July 2016 that the new names of places in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, under full Russian control since the

2014 Russian annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

, "will enter force with the return of temporarily occupied territory of the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, commonly known as Crimea, is a de jure autonomous republic of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,

and

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

under the general

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

of Ukraine." In May 2017, 46 Ukrainian MPs, mainly from the

Opposition Bloc russian: Оппозиционный блок , colorcode = , logo = Opposition Bloc.png , logo_size = 240px , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Rinat Akhmetov (one wing)Dmytro Firtash & Yuriy Boyko ( ...

faction, appealed to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to declare the 2015 decommunization laws unconstitutional.
Director of the

Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory ( uk, Український Інститут Національної Пам’яті, UINM), also translated as the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, is the central executive body operating un ...

Volodymyr Viatrovych Volodymyr Mykhailovych Viatrovych ( uk, Володи́мир Михайлович В'ятро́вич; born 7 July 1977) is a Ukrainian historian, civic activist and politician. Viatrovych was the Director of the Center for Research of Liberation ...

stated in February 2018 that "De-communism in the context of depriving the symbols of the totalitarian regime has actually been completed".De-communism in Ukraine is actually completed - Vyatrovich

(10 February 2018) Although according to him the city of

was lagging behind. In February 2019, the

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine ( uk, Центральна виборча комісія України, commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК (''Tse-Ve-Ka''); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukrai ...

refused to register the candidacy of (leader of Communist Party)

Petro Symonenko Petro Mykolayovych Symonenko ( uk, Петро́ Микола́йович Симоне́нко; born 1 August 1952) is a Ukrainian politician and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Symonenko was the Co ...

for the

2019 Ukrainian presidential election The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system. There were 39 candidates for the election on the ballot. The 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and the occupation of parts of Donetsk Oblast an ...

due to the fact that the statute, name and symbolism of the Communist Party of Ukraine did not comply with the 2015 decommunization laws.The CEC refused to register nearly fifty presidential candidates

(8 February 2019) Symonenko appealed the decision, but the court of appeal confirmed decision of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. During the same month of February, it was announced that the oblast of Dnipropetrovsk would be renamed to "Sicheslav" in the future. On 16 July 2019, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine upheld the 2015

Ukrainian decommunization laws Ukrainian decommunization laws refer to four Ukrainian laws of 2015. These laws relate to decommunization as well as commemoration of Ukrainian history. Such laws have been referred to as " memory laws". As a result of the law mandating the remov ...

. On 7 November 2020 in the village

Mala Rohan Mala Rohan ( uk, Мала Рогань) is a village in Ukraine in Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast. It belongs to Mala Rohan village council, one of the village councils of Ukraine. History 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 25 February 2022, th ...

, an

Emblem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The coat of arms of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 14 March 1919 by the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and subsequently modified on 7 November 1928, 30 January 1937 and 21 November 1949. The coat of ...

was dismantled from the facade of a school. On 27 April 2022 (during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

), the 27-foot Soviet-era bronze statue under the

People's Friendship Arch The Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian people ( uk, Арка свободи українського народу, translit=Arka svobody ukrainskoho narodu) is a monument in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It was opened on 7 November 1982, amidst th ...

in Kyiv, representing Russian–Ukrainian friendship, was removed by order of Mayor of Kyiv

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv On 18 May 2015, the

expressed concern that the laws could negatively impact the

freedom of the press in Ukraine Ukraine was in 96th placecivil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KhPG) is one of the oldest and most active Ukrainian human rights organizations. As a legal entity, it was established in 1992, but it has been working as a human rights protection group in the Ukrainia ...

stated (in May 2015) the laws "(one of which) effectively criminalizes public expression of views held by many

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

". Russian lawmakers have argued (in April 2015) that it was "

cynical Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of "others". A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic ...

" to put

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

symbol on par with each other, and

pro-Russian Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...

rebels in

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

(a region in

eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khark ...

) have condemned the law. The then head of the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...

Alexander Zakharchenko Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko uk, Олекса́ндр Володи́мирович Заха́рченко, translit=Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Zakharchenko (26 June 1976 – 31 August 2018) was a Ukrainian separatist leader who was the h ...

stated in late February 2016 that when renamed cities "return under our jurisdiction", they would be renamed to their pre-decommunized name. On 18 December 2015, the

Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...

stated that Ukraine's

laws did not comply with European legislative standards. It was in particular critical about the banning of

communist parties A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

.Ukraine's law on 'decommunisation' does not comply with EU standards – Venice Commission, OSCE/ODIHR

(19 December 2015) In February 2022, in connection with a presidential address of Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

in the midst of the Russo-Ukrainian crisis, Putin addressed the Ukrainian legal process of decommunisation that had begun in Ukraine in 2015, and extended the traditional definition of decommunization in Ukraine and said, "You want decommunisation? That suits us fine. But don't stop halfway. We're ready to show Ukraine what real decommunisation means for Ukraine." During the same speech, Putin had stated that Ukraine was a creation of the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

, specifically blaming

for "detaching Ukraine from Russia".

Results

Since 16 December 2015 three communist parties are banned in Ukraine (the

and

). The only party that appealed this ban was the Communist Party of Ukraine; this resulted in the court's decision to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine did not come into force. However, the April 2015 decommunization law contains a norm that allows the

to prohibit the Communist Party from participating in elections. Ukraine had 5,500 Lenin monuments in 1991, declining to 1,300 by December 2015.Out of Sight

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' ( uk, Український Тиждень, translit=Ukrainskyi Tyzhden) is an illustrated weekly magazine covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides ...

(28 December 2015) More than 700 Lenin monuments were removed and/or destroyed from February 2014 (when 376 came down) to December 2015. On 16 January 2017 the

announced that 1,320 Lenin monuments were dismantled during decommunization.Dekomunizuvaly monuments to Lenin in 1320, Bandera set 4

(16 January 2017)
With 50 Thousand Renamed Objects Place Names, Only 34 Are Named After Bandera
,

(16 January 2017) On 16 January 2017, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance stated that 51,493 streets, squares and "other facilities" had been renamed due to decommunization. By June 2016 there were renamed 19

raions A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is com ...

, 27 urban districts, 29 cities, 48 urban-type settlements, 119 rural settlements and 711 villages. The fourth largest city was renamed from Dnipropetrovsk to

. In the second-largest city of Ukraine,

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...

s, 4 parks and 1 metro station had been renamed by early February 2016. In all of 2016 51,493 streets and 987 cities and villages were renamed, 25 raions were renamed and 1,320

and 1,069 monuments to other communist figures removed. In some villages Lenin statues were remade into "non-communist historical figures" to save money. One of the most prominent examples was Lenin monument in

, which was remade into the monument to

. In February 2019, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' reported that the two Lenin statues in the

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, Belarusian: Хона адчужэння Чарнобыльскай АЭС, ''Zona adčužennia Čarnobyĺskaj AES'', russian: Зона отчуждения Чернобыльской АЭС ...

were the only two remaining statues of Lenin in Ukraine, if not taking into account

occupied territories of Ukraine Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are areas of Ukraine that are currently ''de facto'' controlled by the Russian government in the course of the Russo-Ukrainian war. In Ukrainian law, they are defined as the "temporarily occupied territo ...

. In January 2021 ''"

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

"'' located three remaining Lenin statues in three (Ukrainian controlled) small villages. In January 2021, 24 Ukrainian streets were still named after former

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Valentina Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ( rus, Валентина Владимировна Терешкова, links=no, p=vɐlʲɪnʲˈtʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə tʲɪrʲɪʂˈkovə, a=Valentina Tereshkova.ogg; born 6 March 1937) is an engine ...

(6 of them in parts of Ukrainian not under government control), according to the 2015 decommunization laws they should have been renamed.Where does Valentina Tereshkova Street lead?
LB.ua (6 January 2021) The last Lenin statue in Ukraine (excluding territories currently annexed by Russia or occupied by separatists) was demolished in Stari Troyany,

Izmail Raion Izmail Raion ( uk, Ізмаїльський район ; ; bg, Измаилски район; ro, Raionul Ismail) is a raion (administrative division) in Odesa Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the town of Izmail. It ...

Odessa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern ...

on 27 January 2021. Motherland-mir09-gatex-1

The director of the

stated in February 2018 that the still existing Soviet hammer and sickle on the shield of the

Motherland Monument ''The Motherland Monument'' ( uk, Батьківщина-Мати, translit=Batkivshchýna-Máty) is a monumental statue in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World ...

should be removed to comply with the country's decommunization laws and replace it with the Ukrainian trident. , however, the monument has not been modified.

Polling

A November 2016 poll, found that 48% of respondents supported a ban on communist ideology in Ukraine, 36% were against it and 16% are undecided. It also found that 48% of respondents said they are against the initiative to dismantle all monuments to Lenin in the country, whereas 41% support this and 11% are undecided. As of 8 April 2022, according to a poll by the sociological group ''Rating'', 76% of

support the initiative to rename streets and other objects whose names are associated with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

after the

Notes

References

External links