The term “racism” is legally enshrined in Ukraine.

Now the Russian government in Ukraine is officially considered a “Nazi regime”

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky signed the law “on the principles of state policy of the national memory of the Ukrainian people,” which, among other things, codifies the term “racism” in Ukrainian legislation. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, this word has been widely used to denote the prevailing ideology and authoritarian political structure in modern Russia.

From now on, according to the document, “Racism” is defined as “a type of totalitarian ideology and practices that underlie the Russian Nazi totalitarian regime... and are based on the traditions... of the communist and national socialist totalitarian regimes.”

According to Ukrainian legislators, “Racism” combines “the traditions of Russian chauvinism and imperialism with the methods of the communist and Nazi totalitarian systems.”

The explanatory note notes that since the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin has been actively using historical manipulation, trying to distort Ukrainian history, impose the thesis of a “common heritage” and justify the war with quasi-historical narratives.

The new law is expected to become a tool to counter Russian propaganda and a factor in consolidating society around a common view of the past.

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Also in Ukraine, “national memory” was attributed to the fundamental interests of the state

The new law also introduces a definition of “national memory” into other legislation. Thus, in the law “on the national security of Ukraine”, national memory is now included in the fundamental interests of the state. The topic of national memory is also included in the priorities of cultural policy in the law “On Culture”. New mechanisms for honoring the victims of the tragedy have been added to the law “On the Holodomor of 1932–1933”. The Law “On Central Executive Bodies” clarifies the status of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.

In addition to the term “racism,” the document enshrines such concepts as “war for the independence of Ukraine,” “crimes against the Ukrainian people,” and “historical anti-Ukrainian propaganda.”

Once every five years, the Cabinet of Ministers, on the proposal of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, will approve the State Strategy for the Restoration and Preservation of National Memory and the action plan for its implementation.

The draft law was prepared back in 2023

The draft law was prepared by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance in 2023. At that time, the authorities emphasized the need for a unified approach, since previously memory issues were regulated in a fragmented manner. In May of the same year, the Verkhovna Rada recognized the political regime in Russia as “racism.”

In May 2025, the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy recommended adopting the document as a basis, and on August 21, the Verkhovna Rada finally approved the law.

Let us remember that Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that the existing political system in Ukraine is “Nazi”. Russian authorities have repeatedly called Vladimir Zelensky a “Nazi.” One of the goals of the “SVO” is the “denazification” of Ukraine , but to define this term, as a rule, vague formulations are used and it is impossible to reliably judge what the authorities mean by this word.

Photo: Ukrainian Radio

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