Derussification in Ukraine

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Derussification in Ukraine (Ukrainian: Дерусифікація/деросіянізація в Україні, romanized: Derusyfikatsiia/derosiianizatsiia v Ukraïni) is a process of removing Russian influence from the post-Soviet country of Ukraine. This derussification started after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and intensified with the demolition of monuments to Lenin during Euromaidan in 2014 and the further systemic process of decommunization in Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian War gave a strong impetus to the process. Along with decommunization, derussification has been described as one of the components of a larger process of decolonization in Ukraine.^[1]

The process manifests itself in the renaming of toponyms named after Russian statesmen and cultural figures, or those that are believed to reflect Russianism and the Russian worldview, or are otherwise associated with Russia. Also part of the process is the dismantling of objects of the Russian rule (e.g., plaques, signs, monuments, busts, and panels). As of April 8, 2022, according to a poll by the sociological group Rating, 76% of Ukrainians support the initiative to rename streets and other objects whose names are associated with Russia.^[2][3]

In March 2023, the Ukrainian parliament passed the Law of Ukraine "On the Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and the Decolonization of Toponymy", which forbade toponymy associated with Russia.^[4] On April 21, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law.^[5] This law prohibits toponymy that symbolizes or glorifies Russia, individuals who carried out aggression against Ukraine (or another country), as well as totalitarian policies and practices related to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, including Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories. A series of toponyms have already been renamed based on this law.^[5]