National Memory Institute declares Dostoevsky and Tolstoy Russian propagandists

Portraits of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Photo: open sources

Objects dedicated to Russian writers Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy relate to the symbolism of Russian imperial policy and therefore should be renamed or demolished, the expert commission of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINP) stated.

According to the experts, the work of both writers is "directly connected with the glorification of Russian imperial policy". The UINP claims that naming streets, squares and other objects in Ukraine after Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, as well as erecting monuments in their honor, were "embodiments of Russification" – a policy aimed at "displacing the Ukrainian language from use, narrowing Ukrainian cultural and informational space".

Now all objects bearing the names of these writers are officially classified as "symbolism of Russian imperial policy", and their continued existence is qualified as "propaganda of Russian imperial policy".

It should be recalled that earlier the UINP published lists of historical figures, dividing them into two categories. The "black list" included Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev, Bunin, Suvorov, Kutuzov, Glinka and others. The "white" list included Gogol, Chekhov, Repin, Aivazovsky, Herzen and Nekrasov.

Institute head Oleksandr Alferov called on local authorities to check street names for compliance with the new lists and carry out renaming where necessary.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Institute of National Memory is touring Ukraine with an exhibition about "church Ruscism".

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