Government passes a bill to change approaches to cultural heritage as part of derussification process

On December 2, at the proposal of the MCIP, the Government approved the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Cultural Heritage" regarding the non-inclusion in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine and the removal of certain objects of cultural heritage from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine". 

From now on, there will be legal grounds for removing cultural heritage monuments from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine, which is a symbol of russian imperial and soviet totalitarian policy and ideology. Changes to the legislation are essential to strengthen Ukraine's positioning in the new geopolitical context as a center of democracy and freedom.

"It is necessary to change the state policy on preservation and protection of cultural heritage now, because it is one of the main factors in the formation of Ukrainian identity. The demand of Ukrainian society, exhausted by russian aggression and atrocities of the russian army, for change is very high. Right now, the rethinking and search for new meanings and universal value narratives is the most urgent. We must rid the Ukrainian cultural space of post-colonial ballast," said Oleksandr Tkachenko.

The draft law provides for amendments to Articles 13, 15 and supplementing with a new Article 151 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Cultural Heritage" by expanding the monuments that are not subject to entry in the Register of Cultural Heritage Objects and supplementing the criteria for classifying cultural heritage objects as symbols of russian imperial or soviet totalitarian policy.

Further, the draft law should be considered and adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.