Ukraine move to ban Soviet symbols sparks controversy

Ukraine slideshow Just as Russia holds a vast military parade on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany that will be heavy with communist-era imagery, Ukraine is going the opposite way: by banning Soviet symbols.

The country's parliament overwhelmingly passed a controversial package of four laws last month that aim to "de-communise" Ukraine by opening up KGB archives and outlawing the use of Soviet as well as Nazi emblems.

The laws could mean everything from removing Lenin statues in town squares to stripping the hammer and sickle from the shield of the giant Motherland victory memorial in Kiev. Dnipropetrovsk, a city named after a 1920s Ukrainian communist leader, would have to be renamed, like scores of towns across Ukraine.

Addressing veterans in the voting hall of parliament on Friday during second world war commemorations, Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, hinted strongly he would sign into law the "very timely and proper" legislation that "is absolutely just in equating the criminal Nazi and communist misanthropic ideologies and bloody practices".

But critics inside and outside Ukraine say the laws, including measures attempting to frame the country's 20th-century history, are flawed and fall short of the European standards its new government espouses.

<

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

The laws are a vivid indicator of Moscow and Kiev's divergent paths. Their authors say they echo those adopted by Poland and the Baltic republics in their 1990s post-communist transition to market democracy.

But opponents say Ukraine's legislation is more radical. It makes it a criminal offence to deny the legitimacy of Ukraine's 20th-century "struggle for independence" or the "criminal character of the communist totalitarian regime".

They say the hastily-drafted package, passed with little debate could limit freedom of speech. It could also exacerbate divisions between Ukraine's European-leaning west and more Russian-leaning eastern regions, while Kiev is struggling to contain the Moscow-backed separatist conflict in Donetsk and Lugansk.

Critics are particularly concerned that the laws shield from criticism "fighters for Ukraine's independence". These include the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, which temporarily allied with the Nazis, and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which killed thousands of Poles in an uprising during the second world war. Many west Ukrainians revere both groups for battling for an independent Ukrainian state, but views differ in the east.

"If the Ukrainian parliament thinks they need these laws, they should have them," said Andreas Umland, a German political scientist at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Co-operation in Kiev. "But the way they are formulated now could lead to self-censorship. There are certain threats," he added, pointing to potential five-year prison terms for transgressions.

Volodymyr Viatrovych, a historian and former deputy security chief who co-authored the legislation, insists western critics have their facts wrong. "These laws do not initiate social processes but catch up with . . . processes that started with the Maidan," he said. Several prominent Lenin statues were torn down during and after the street protests on Kiev's Maidan square that toppled pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich 14 months ago.

The criminal responsibility envisaged for "spreading communist propaganda" did not apply to "historical academic discussions" or journalists, he added. "We are talking about publications that praise Stalin for how good he was for Ukraine, and marches under the Soviet flags and banners praising Stalin," Mr Viatrovych said.

Opponents also say the laws would waste time and money when Ukraine is close to economic meltdown.

But Dmytro Tymchuk, a military analyst-turned-MP with roots in Ukraine's eastern Donbass, said the country was right to take radical steps given that it - unlike 1990s Poland or the Baltics - faces war by Russia.

"The mentality of the country has started to change. The majority now clearly and rightfully associates Soviet symbols with Russia and its aggression," he said.

Mr Tymchuk acknowledged the measures would be viewed differently in rebel-held Donbass, heavily influenced by Russian "propaganda". "This legislation had to be adopted," he said, and should have been done after Ukraine's 1991 independence. "Had this been done, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in today," he said.

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation