Dismantling the Arch of Friendship of Peoples: Institute of National Remembrance explains commission's decision on monument
Kyiv • UNN
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance explained that the expert commission had only made a decision on the need to dismantle the Peoples' Friendship Arch. Implementation of this decision and taking into account the advice of the UINP expert commission depends on the city authorities and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance stated that the expert commission only decided to dismantle the Arch of Friendship of Peoples as a symbol of Russian imperial policy. However, how and when the experts' decision will be taken into account is a question for the city authorities. This is stated in the explanation of the UINP, UNN writes.
Details
The Institute of National Memory stated that the commission's decision to completely dismantle the Arch of Friendship of Peoples caused a significant resonance, so the UINP decided to explain the procedure for making the decision and its justification.
The expert commission of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory on the implementation of the Law of Ukraine "On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and Decolonization of Place Names" is authorized by the same law to provide professional opinions on its implementation, in particular on establishing whether objects belong to the symbols of Russian imperial policy
Therefore, the expert commission comprehensively considered the question of whether the Arch belongs to the symbols of Russian imperial policy.
In particular, the commission's professional opinion states that the monument in honor of the so-called "reunification of Ukraine with Russia" was erected in 1982 in preparation for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR and the 65th anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917.
The expert commission also noted that the myth of the "reunification" of the two "brotherly" peoples embodied in the monumental complex "Arch of Friendship of Peoples" does not correspond to historical realities, and in Soviet times this myth was used to justify the "age-old aspiration of the Ukrainian people to reunite with the Russian people.
It is noted that today this myth serves to support Russian territorial claims and propaganda aimed at changing the perception of Ukrainians about their history and statehood.
In addition, the Commission's conclusion states that the renaming of the Arch by the Kyiv City Council for preserving the existing elements of the complex as they are now does not level the historical connotations of the monument
Therefore, the commission issued a professional opinion that the object belongs to the symbols of Russian imperial policy, and therefore it is necessary to dismantle it. When and how the conclusion of the Expert Commission will be taken into account will be decided by the city authorities and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. In general, the issue of transforming the space at the site of this monumental complex should be considered on the basis of a broad public dialogue with the participation of the community and the expert community
Addendum
The UINP noted that the members of the Commission are doctors of historical and philological sciences representing the Institute of Ukrainian Archeology and Source Studies, the Institute of History of Ukraine, the Institute of the Ukrainian Language, the Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as well as leading Ukrainian universities - Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Mechnikov National University of Odesa, Karazin National University of Kharkiv.
The Institute of National Remembrance also emphasized that the fate of the Arch has repeatedly been the subject of discussion since 2014, and the Arch itself has become the backdrop for public statements.
In particular, in 2018, the artist Volodymyr Kuznetsov initiated the redefinition of the object by drawing a crack on the Arch. However, after the full-scale invasion, some of the public and experts argued that such a symbolic action was no longer enough
Recall
The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory stated that the Arch of Friendship of Peoples in Kyiv, built in 1982 in honor of the creation of the USSR and the October Revolution, symbolizes Russia's imperial policy and should be completely dismantled.
