Since 2014, Ukraine has promoted a series of policies to dismantle Russian imperial influence under the guise of the ‘Russian World’ ideology. Kyiv was steadily consolidating its sovereignty in educational, language, media, religious domains. Key milestones include the 2019 restoration of the independence the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the Moscow Patriarchate. The so-called ‘de-communisation laws’ introduced in 2015 mandated the removal of Soviet symbols and the renaming of cities to reclaim national memory from colonial historiography. A 2019 law mandated the use of the Ukrainian language in public administration, education, and media, without banning the private use of minority languages.
The current Russian full-scale attack is accompanied by a targeted destruction of cultural and religious institutions and its leaders. One of the persistent demands of the Kremlin is the return of its agents of influence (media, church, cultural institutions) and the introduction of Russian as the second official language.
This discussion will focus on why Ukraine’s sovereignty over its domestic affairs is of paramount importance and what is at stake if it is not defended in the future peace agreement.
The round table will examine:
- How does the Kremlin instrumentalize religious, minority rights and cultural issues to undermine Ukrainian state?
- How can Ukraine align its de-Russification efforts as part of its security and recovery strategy with the minority rights standards required for EU accession?
- Why safeguarding the country’s cultural heritage is a matter of national security and an important component of its recovery strategy?
- What is domestic public opinion about these issues?
