Officials in Kremenchuk, located in the Poltava region of Ukraine, have chosen to remove elements tied to Russia from the city’s largest panel. This development was reported by the television channel Public.
On August 15, the city began restoration work on the panel known as the Seal of Our Party, which dominates several floors of a building on Sobornaya Street. The artists intend to remove components that symbolize Russian imperial politics and replace Soviet-era details with Ukrainian symbolism.
The channel notes that the panel contains the names of Soviet newspapers and formerly displayed the Soviet flag. The plan is to erase those references and substitute them with the Ukrainian flag, signaling a shift in public commemoration.
Earlier, Yuriy Savchuk, who serves as the general director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, commented that a well-known monument in Kyiv might be renamed to reflect Ukrainian identity.
In parallel, Taras Kremin, Ukraine’s Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, reiterated the government’s stance on renaming place names connected to the Russian Federation.
In May, the Verkhovna Rada introduced a formal term to describe certain political phenomena. The term rashim is used to categorize militarism, the sanctification of state institutions, and the glorification of Russia and Russians through violent oppression or denial of the existence of other peoples.
The concept of rashim has appeared in Ukrainian history education as part of modern reforms to better reflect current national narratives.
These developments occur within Ukraine’s broader efforts to realign public symbols with national identity and historical memory, a process that is closely watched by international observers and domestic communities alike.
As authorities pursue these changes, observers emphasize the significance of civic memory in shaping public spaces. The ongoing discussions around the panel in Kremenchuk illustrate how art, monuments, and language can become focal points in national discourse, embodying broader political and cultural shifts.
Experts note that such actions are often contested and debated across different regions and demographics, reflecting diverse perspectives on history, sovereignty, and the future of Ukraine’s cultural landscape.
In this context, the Ukrainian government and cultural institutions continue to monitor and manage the evolution of symbols that reflect the country’s path toward independence and integration with European institutions.
Citizens and scholars alike are encouraged to engage with these changes thoughtfully, recognizing that public art and state language policies can influence collective memory and national identity for generations to come.
Source notes: Public TV and official statements from Ukrainian cultural authorities.