The Verkhovna Rada failed to submit a request to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking to strip singer Oleksii Potapenko (Potap) of the title "Honored Artist of Ukraine," reports UNN.
I am putting to a vote the proposal to preliminarily support the parliamentary request of a group of people's deputies… to the President of Ukraine regarding the deprivation of Oleksii Andriiovych Potapenko of the honorary Ukrainian title "Honored Artist of Ukraine"
Only 198 deputies supported the request, while 226 votes were required.
Update
A petition was recently published on the website of the Office of the President which, within several days, garnered the required 25,000 votes regarding the initiation of the procedure to strip Oleksii Potapenko ("Potap") of the honorary title "Honored Artist of Ukraine".
The grounds for this appeal are Oleksii Potapenko's public activities, which, in the opinion of the petition's authors, do not correspond to the status of a person awarded a state honor of Ukraine and contain signs of promoting the Russian cultural and linguistic environment and public interaction with representatives of the aggressor state
In particular, this concerns:
- the public use and promotion of Russian-language cultural products at a time when the Russian Federation is waging armed aggression against Ukraine, while the Russian language and culture are systematically used by the aggressor state as tools of informational and cultural influence;
- public statements and actions regarding the Ukrainian language that may be perceived as devaluing or mocking it, or as opposing it to Ukrainian national identity. Such actions are particularly sensitive to society given the person's status as a holder of an honorary Ukrainian title in the field of culture;
- public cooperation and the creation of joint media content with citizens of the Russian Federation and representatives of the Russian show business, which requires proper legal assessment in view of Ukraine's current legislation on countering the promotion of the aggressor state;
- actual residence and professional activities outside Ukraine, which in themselves do not constitute an offense and cannot serve as an independent ground for stripping someone of a state award, but, taken together with other public actions by the person, should be taken into account when assessing their continued compliance with the status of an award recipient.
The President has not yet responded to the petition.
Potap himself responded to the petition, saying that he calmly accepts the possibility of being stripped of the title.
If my title helps Ukraine win, take it away. If it makes someone feel better, please do. I do not need an ID card to remain an artist and communicate with people who have been listening to my music for more than twenty years
He added that, for him, knowledge of languages had never meant renouncing his country or culture.
We speak different languages. Ukrainian, Russian, English, Spanish. We write music in different languages and create different projects for different countries and audiences. The more languages you know, the more people you can hear and understand, and the more people you can tell about yourself and your country
Recently, in an interview, answering a question about whether he was subject to mobilization and why he was not fighting, Potap also said: "I am subject to mobilization. If they tell me to leave, I will leave. But someone in this life has to be Potap, and I decided to be Potap".
His wife, Nastia Kamenskykh, also "distinguished herself". In the same interview, she stated that the language issue in Ukraine had allegedly "been taken to the absurd", that it was being "manipulated very heavily", and that she herself considered it "pure politics". At the same time, the singer said that Ukraine should speak Ukrainian, but that she wanted to decide for herself which language to speak and sing in.
In addition, during the interview, Kamenskykh stated that she did not consider herself a patriot of Ukraine because she placed personal interests above the public good. When asked what the homeland meant to her, the singer was unable to answer.
Kamenskikh's statements sparked a wave of criticism and jokes on social media, while the story about the "bone" after switching to Ukrainian became the subject of numerous memes.
According to the law "On State Awards," the title "Honored Artist of Ukraine" is awarded to individuals who work in the relevant sector of the economic and socio-cultural sphere, as a rule, for at least ten years, and who have achieved high professional results and demonstrated professional excellence.
In 2020, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Potap the title "Honored Artist of Ukraine".
In November 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on stripping state awards for propaganda on behalf of the aggressor state.
Under the law, state awards may be revoked: pursuant to a court verdict by which a person is convicted of a serious or particularly serious crime, a criminal offense against the foundations of Ukraine's national security, or against peace, human security, and the international legal order; as well as by a decision of the National Security and Defense Council imposing sanctions.
Deprivation of traitors of state awards: the Rada made a decision20.11.24, 11:59
We would like to remind you
Ukrainian singer and producer Potap (Oleksii Potapenko) was added to the database of the "Myrotvorets" center.