Viacheslav Kyrylenko: Ukraine Undergoes Mental Decolonization

The fundamental, though complex, long-lasting processes of mental decolonization have begun in Ukraine.

Viacheslav Kyrylenko, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, stated this during the 11^th Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv.

“Before the Russian aggression began, the issue of national identity was considered very narrowly, as a political or linguistic issue, but in any case not as an important security issue. Since 2014 till the present day, such issues as Ukrainian language, national memory policy, and national identity have become the main points of creating a new model of human security in Ukraine,” he stated.

The Vice Prime Minister noted that Russia had been long preparing for the occupation of the Crimea and Donbas. The key elements of this process were the destruction of the Ukrainian national identity in these territories and the promotion of the so-called ‘Russian World’: “The approach is very simple – there is no Ukrainian language in these territories, the people do not possess the Ukrainian identity, and therefore Russians live there, not Ukrainians. Thus they should be protected by Russian troops”. Subsequently, Russia acted according to this scenario, he added.

V.Kyrylenko noted that for a long time the Ukrainian authorities had never focused on the development of Ukrainian identity, Ukrainian language, respect for genuine Ukrainian history and national memory. And only after the Russian aggression both the Government and the Parliament began to take active steps in this direction.

“It means the beginning of the fundamental, key, though complex, long-lasting processes of mental decolonization in Ukraine”, he stressed, adding that this work is not easy since the Russian propaganda machine has an enormous potential.

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The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.