The laws are undoubtedly a response to Russia’s abuse of Soviet history for propaganda purposes in its perpetration of the war in eastern Ukraine. It also took part in anti-Jewish pogroms in Ukraine and… remained allied with the occupation regime throughout the war.”

“Not only would it be a crime to question the legitimacy of an organization (UPA) that slaughtered tens of thousands of Poles in one of the most heinous acts of ethnic cleansing in the history of Ukraine, but also it would exempt from criticism the OUN, one of the most extreme political groups in Western Ukraine between the wars, and one which collaborated with Nazi Germany at the outset of the Soviet invasion in 1941. A letter signed by 70 academics from Ukraine and around the world is unambiguous in its criticism of the law: Breaking the so-called “anti-Communist law” carries a maximum five-year prison sentence for individuals, and a ten-year prison sentence for members of an organization.Ī second law makes it a crime to question the legitimacy of actions undertaken by contentious nationalist groups accused of war crimes, like the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during “the struggle for the independence of Ukraine in the 20th century”. On May 21st, two controversial new laws came into effect banning all Soviet symbols and criminalizing any questioning of the “criminal character of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917-1991 in Ukraine”. Several months ago, Andrey’s caution about disclosing his preference for life in the Soviet Union seemed like paranoia. Then he added: “I could get arrested for talking about these things.” I prefer the USSR to what we have today,” Andrey told me in a dark bar near Odessa’s Black Sea port back in October. “In the Soviet Union we had égalité and fraternité without liberté.

What is cccp insurgent