The full-scale war has been going on for more than a year and a half. Ukrainians are fighting for their territorial and political independence at the most expensive price. But what about cultural independence, specifically, shaping the space within our cities? 

During the war, Ukrainian municipalities made significant progress in de-Russification and decolonization of their streets, parks, and memorial sites. No wonder, considering that the relevant law on decommunization has been in force since 2015, and the law on decolonization came into effect in July 2023. However, the city authorities, and or others responsible for this, are still in no hurry to dismantle Russian/Soviet/imperial monuments.

What can residents do to ensure they no longer walk past the monument to Pushkin, the memorial plaque to the “Great Russian artist” Vrubel, or read about Shevchenko as an artist of the Imperial Academy of Sciences?

We have prepared instructions for the most common cases of combating the Russian cultural code in our cities.

Dismantling of monuments: what the legislation says

First, let's look at the regulatory framework. Law On Decolonization prohibits publicly glorifying (honoring) symbols of Russian imperial politics, which, in particular, include: 

• monuments, memorial signs, and inscriptions dedicated to persons who held senior positions in government and administrative bodies, political organizations, parties, and armed formations of the Russian Kingdom (Moscow Kingdom), the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, the Russian state, the Russian Social Federative Republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Republic, the Russian Federation, territorial entities or administrative units, including unrecognized ones, created during the implementation of the Russian imperial policy in the occupied, annexed or otherwise occupied territories, and participated or contributed to the implementation of the Russian imperial policy (except for images, monuments, memorial signs, inscriptions dedicated to persons associated with the protection of political, economic, cultural rights of the Ukrainian people, the development of Ukrainian national statehood, science, culture), employees of Soviet state bodies security at all levels,
• images, monuments, memorial signs, and inscriptions dedicated to persons who publicly, including in the media, in literary and other works of art, supported, glorified, or justified Russian imperial policy, called for russification or Ukrainophobia,
• images, monuments, memorial signs, and inscriptions dedicated to events related to the implementation of the Russian imperial policy(except for images, monuments and commemorative signs related to the resistance and expulsion of the Nazi occupiers from Ukraine, with the protection of political, economic, and cultural rights of the Ukrainian people, the development of Ukrainian national statehood, science, and culture).

The requirements of the Law do not cover monuments that are parts of the Museum Fund of Ukraine (museum sets and collections), World Heritage sites, tombstones at burial sites, or places of honorary burial in cemeteries. 

Step by step: what is the sequence of demolition/dismantling of monuments?

According to the provisions of the law on decolonization, the process of dismantling a monument can occur in multiple stages with the involvement of authorized persons or bodies. The local self-government body authorizes the municipal enterprise or structural division to dismantle monuments through its decision. 

Step 1: Within 6 months from the entry into force of the law (July 27, 2023), a city council, military administration, or military-civil administration decides to dismantle or move from the public space a monument or memorial sign symbolizing Russian imperial politics. 

If a monument or memorial sign symbolizing Russian imperial politics is situated at places of honorary burial outside the cemetery, it is dismantled along with the reburial procedure. In that case, a city authorities additionally determine the division responsible for organizing reburial in accordance with the law.

If a monument or memorial sign has only specific elements symbolizing Russian imperial politics, those elements should be dismantled or removed from the public space.

Step 2: If a city council has not made a decision on dismantling or moving it before January 27, 2024, a mayor (or a person exercising the mayor's powers) is required to make the decision within three months. 

Step 3: If a mayor does not issue a corresponding order before April 27, 2024, the decision on dismantling or moving is issued by a Chairman of the relevant regional state administration. Such an order shall also be adopted within three months. 

If a local council evades making a decision on dismantling, residents have the right to file a claim with the administrative court. The subject matter of this claim is to seek a declaration of the subject of authority's inaction as illegal and to compel them to address the matter of dismantling (relocation) in accordance with the established procedure. 

The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, a specialized organization for the decolonization of public space, emphasizes that when making decisions on dismantling or relocating monuments, it is essential to consider: 

• public opinion, 
• cultural value of an object, and
• the contribution of the figures to whom they are dedicated to the cultural heritage of humanity, the artistic component of the monument or its parts. 

However, it should be understood that legal regulations are mandatory. So even if the public or experts are against them, the authorities are forced to ensure dismantling (as required by law).

The steps described above apply to monuments or signs that are not included in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine or have not been registered in accordance with the legislation in force before the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Cultural Heritage.” Otherwise, such monuments shall be dismantled, removed or relocated according to the procedure on the info-graphics.

How can residents get the monument dismantled/relocated? 

The proposed options are available to all citizens of Ukraine, for this you do not need to have a special specialty or certificate, go to lawyers or understand the relevant legislation.

Option 1. Dismantling/relocation of monuments that are not included in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine or are not registered

1. Take photos or videos of a monument or memorial sign symbolizing Russian imperial heritage. 
2. Create a petition Kyiv, Poltava), give instructions to deputies or submit a local initiative (Kropyvnytskyi)with a request to submit for consideration by the session a decision on dismantling/relocating a monument or its separate elements. Attach photos or links to videos to documents that prove the presence of elements of the Russian imperial heritage in the city's public space.
3. If by July 27, 2024, neither the city council, the mayor, nor the regional state administration decides to dismantle or relocate monuments or individual elements, the community has the right to file a claim with the administrative court (Mykolaiiv and Odesa serve as examples of decommunization).

Option 2. Dismantling/relocation of monuments that are included in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine

1. Take photos or videos of a monument or memorial sign symbolizing Russian imperial heritage.
2. If an object is a monument of national significance, you should contact the regional, Kyiv, or Sevastopol City State Administration with the initiative to withdraw such a monument or memorial sign from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. Attach photos or links to videos to your application as evidence proving the presence of elements of the Russian imperial heritage in the city's public space.

   NB! A corresponding proposal can also be submitted by the local council or deputies. 

   If an object is a monument of local significance, an application for initiating consideration of the issue of excluding a monument or memorial sign from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine can also be submitted to the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments or other public organizations whose statutory tasks include the protection of cultural heritage.

3. To initiate consideration of the issue of excluding a monument from the Register, the relevant state administration or public organization shall submit the following documents to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine:
   - submission about excluding a monument from the Register, certified by the signature of the head of an initiating institution or organization,
   - photo documentation of the monument and its surroundings, capturing any lost or damaged valuable (characteristic) elements of a monument that contribute to its historical and cultural significance. This documentation should focus on the object recognized as a monument and reflect the date of capture, which should be no more than three months before submitting it to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy,
   - copy of the security contract for a monument,
   - documents confirming the adoption of measures to respond to violations of legislation in the field of cultural heritage protection (if any),
   - documents confirming a report to law enforcement agencies about a crime (if any),
   - inspection report the monument and surrounding area.

4. If a monument or memorial sign symbolizing the Russian imperial heritage is of local significance, the final decision on its removal or retention in the Register is made by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. If it is of national significance, the decision is made by the Cabinet of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. 
   The decision to exclude a monument from the Register is drafted by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy following deliberations during a meeting of the Expert Commission on Recording Cultural Heritage Objects. Considering the decision of the expert commission, within a period not exceeding 10 working days from the date of registration of its report, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy may:
   - make a decision to exclude a monument of local significance from the Register,
   - prepare a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the excluding of monuments of national significance from the Register,
   - refuse to exclude a monument from the Register due to the lack of grounds.
   An agency shall notify the initiator (Regional State Administration or NGO) of the exclusion of the monument within 10 days. Subsequently, the Relevant Regional State Administration or NGO informs the owner of that monument (City Council) within 5 days of receiving the initial notification.

5. After being removed from the Register, an object may be dismantled by decision of the local council or military administration.

Option 3. Dismantling of monuments registered by the state in accordance with the legislation that was in force before the entry into force of the Law “On the Protection of Cultural Heritage.”

To dismantle such objects, one must first obtain a refusal from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy to include them in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. To do that:

1. Take photos or videos of a monument or memorial sign symbolizing Russian imperial heritage. 
2. If an object is a monument of national significance, apply to the regional, Kyiv or Sevastopol City State Administration to initiate consideration of the issue of non-inclusion/exclusion of the object of cultural heritage in/from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. Attach photos or links to videos to your application as evidence proving the presence of elements of the Russian imperial heritage in the city's public space.
   NB! A corresponding proposal can also be submitted by the local council or deputies.
   If an object is a monument of local significance, an application for initiating consideration of the issue of including an object in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine can also be submitted to the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments or other public organizations whose statutory tasks include the protection of cultural heritage.
3. To initiate consideration of the issue of including a monument in the Register, the relevant state administration or public organization shall submit the following documents to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine:
   - submission, certified by the signature of the head of the initiating institution or organization,
   - accounting documentation.
   NB! The submitted documents should provide justification for the non-compliance of the cultural heritage object with the criteria of a monument. Monuments (memorials, memorial signs) dedicated to the below individuals are not subject to entry in the Register:
   - involved in the organization and implementation of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine,
   - involved in political repression,
   - who held senior positions in the Communist Party, the highest authorities and administration of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and other union and autonomous Soviet republics (except for persons whose activities were largely related to the development of Ukrainian science and culture),
   - who worked in the Soviet state security agencies,
   - as well as events related to the implementation of the activities of the Communist Party, the establishment of Soviet power on the territory of Ukraine or in separate administrative-territorial units, the persecution of participants in the fight for the independence of Ukraine in the twentieth century.
4. Within 10 working days from the date of registration of the report drawn up by the expert commission and considering its decisions, the Ministry of Culture takes one of the following actions, notifying the initiator:
   - making a decision on entering a cultural heritage object in the Register by category of local significance,
   - preparing a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on entering a cultural heritage object in the Register by category of national significance,
   - refusal to enter an object in the Register due to non-compliance with its criteria.
5. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy shall notify the initiator if the object is refused entry into the Register due to non-compliance with its criteria.
6. After the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy decides to refuse the entry of a cultural heritage object into the Register, the regional, Kyiv, or Sevastopol City State Administration may, independently or upon citizens' request, or based on the suggestion of the local council or deputies, decide to remove the monument/memorial sign from the List of Cultural Heritage Objects.
7. After being removed from the List, an object may be dismantled by the decision of the local council or military administration.

Option 4. Relocation (moving) of a monument

The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory emphasizes that relocating the monument is the most civilized approach to handling a group of objects associated with Russian, imperial, or Soviet politics. In other words, a monument does not lose its legal status, but is relocated to appropriately prepared memorialized places and removed from the public space. 

To obtain permission for such actions, the owner or an authorized body (person) must submit the following documents to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory:

• application,
• report (or an extract from the report) of the Advisory Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the cultural heritage protection body of the regional, Kyiv, and Sevastopol City State Administrations,
• justification for the impossibility of preserving a monument in place or justification for the need to relocate it,
• a copy of the accounting documentation for a monument,
• certificate of inspection of the technical condition of a monument, 
• a copy of the scientific and project documentation for the relocation of a monument,
• records a monument, photo recording of the place where you plan to relocate (move) a monument, pre-project proposals, 
• decision of a local government body to relocate a monument,
• consent to relocate (move) a monument from its owner or the entity (individual) authorized by them, and from the owner (user) of the land plot or the entity (individual) authorized by them to which the relocation (movement) of the monument is planned.

Decisions to move a monument of local significance are issued by the order of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. With regard to a monument of national significance, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy ensures that the relevant act is submitted to the government for consideration in accordance with the prescribed requirements.

If a local self-government body, acting as the owner of the property, initiates the relocation, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy will inform this body about the decision to grant or refuse permission to relocate (move) a monument.

Option 5. Dismantling of individual parts of a monument

Individual parts of a cultural heritage site, as an exception, may be dismantled to preserve the object as a whole. However, it may be done on the basis of scientific and project documentation exclusively with permission.

• Ministry of Culture and Information Policy regarding any works on monuments of national significance.
• A cultural heritage protection body of regional, Kyiv, or Sevastopol City State Administrations regarding any works related to newly discovered objects or monuments of local significance.

As we can see, the decolonization of urban space may face many legislative procedures and even restrictions. However, all these stages in different configurations can be overcome if there is a political will to do so. Local authorities must take the lead to make the process civilized, legal and consistent.