Ukrainian government tries to abandon its Soviet legacy by banning the symbols of the communist regime. Images mixed by Anna Poludenko-Young. Ukrainian authorities have moved to restrict the propaganda of Communist and Nazi regimes and their symbols in a bid to part with the country's communist past. Some Russian politicians believe this step is a big mistake. The Ukrainian Parliament passed the legislation with a 56% majority vote on April 9, and the so-called “de-communization” bill, already signed by speaker of Parliament Volodymyr Groysman, is now waiting for final approval from President Petro Poroshenko. What is being banned? The law bans the propaganda of Nazi and Communist regimes and the use of their symbols in everything from street names and flags to monuments and plaques. More specifically, though, it is only the Soviet Communist regime of 1917-1991 (along with Hitler's Nazi regime) that will fall under the ban. This means the current Communist party of Ukraine, as well as the images and mentions of the founders of the communist ideology, Marx and Engels, will not be banned. The “de-communization” legislation also declares the Communist government that ruled Ukraine during the Soviet era a criminal regime that “engaged in a policy of state terror.” However, despite some rumors, it doesn’t call for the destruction of monuments to the victims of World War II. The Ukrainian government has pledged to continue to take responsibility for and protect war memorials, military cemeteries, and historical marks that honor the memory of the war. Use of communist symbols is also allowed in history books and research papers. First reactions Russian officials have called the law an affront to history and a tool in the “struggle against the heroic past of the people of Ukraine.” At the same time, supporters of the bill insist that it is a part of Western-oriented reforms and that it doesn’t contradict international norms. Not everyone shares that opinion. The opponents of the new law, a group of almost 50 western scholars, as well as a few Ukrainians and one Russian, published an open letter to President Poroshenko calling on him to veto the bill. They argue that the content and spirit of the law contradict the right to free speech. Over the past 15 years, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has invested enormous resources in the politicization of history. It would be ruinous if Ukraine went down the same road, however partially or tentatively. Any legal or ‘administrative’ distortion of history is an assault on the most basic purpose of scholarly inquiry: pursuit of truth. Among other things, the new law also provides for opening the previously secret KGB archives stored in Ukraine. Markian Lubkivsky, an advisor to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said that the SBU is prepared to give almost a million communist regime documents to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, a state-sponsored historical research body, for further investigation under the new open access policy. Служба безпеки України не буде хранителем таємниць комуністичного режиму або будь-якого іншого режиму. Згідно із законом, який був прийнятий, СБУ передасть близько мільйона документів репресивних органів комуністичного режиму […] для того, щоб інститут досліджував, обробив і надав відкритий доступ до цих документів всім, хто бажає ознайомитися з цими документами. The Security Service of Ukraine won’t be the keeper of the communist regime’s or any other regime’s secrets. According to the new law, the SBU will give approximately one million documents created by the repressive organs of the communist regime […] so the Institute can study, process and make them openly available to everyone who wishes to see these documents. Ukrainian response Some members of the Ukrainian online community took the news about the new legislation as a call for action. They started creating Facebook and Vkontakte de-communization watchdog groups for their geographic regions. There they encourage people to share information about the street and town names that relate to former Soviet or communist leaders and thus, according to the new legislation, might have to be changed. Joining the online de-communization discussion, Yuriy Lutsenko, a Ukrainian politician and former Minister of Internal Affairs, published an old photograph of a woman taking down a street sign reading “Adolf Hitler Street” on Facebook. This photo was taken in 1944—I dedicate it to all the opponents of the new de-communization law. […] The old “song” about rewriting history is a favorite tool of those who raped this history. Stalino became Donetsk, Zhdanov was renamed to Mariupol, Voroshylovograd to Luhansk. These cities were renamed and it didn’t result in the end of the world.