Zelenskyy approves law to counter Russian propaganda and historical distortion
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law that comprehensively regulates the field of national memory. It defines the term rashism as a hybrid totalitarian ideology.
According to the law, rashism is a type of totalitarian ideology and practices that underpin the Russian Nazi totalitarian regime and are based on the traditions of Russian chauvinism and imperialism, as well as the practices of communist and national-socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes.
The explanatory note states that since the beginning of its aggression against Ukraine, Russia has actively manipulated historical facts. The Kremlin seeks to distort Ukrainian history, impose the narrative of a "shared heritage," and justify the war with quasi-historical narratives.
The adopted law is intended to serve as a tool to counter anti-Ukrainian propaganda and to consolidate society around a common understanding of the past.
The document also introduces amendments to existing laws, including:
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To the law On National Security of Ukraine – national memory is recognized as a fundamental interest of the state;
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To the law On Culture – inclusion of this topic among the priorities of state policy;
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To the law On the Holodomor of 1932–1933 – new mechanisms for honoring the victims of the tragedy;
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To the law On Central Executive Authorities – clarification of the status of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.
The law also systematizes rules for assigning names, naming historical events, commemorating victims of the communist totalitarian regime, and organizing sites of memory related to the Second World War.
Law on national memory and the fight against rashism
The draft law was prepared by the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory in 2023 following a government directive. Its adoption was deemed necessary because issues of historical memory had previously been regulated in a fragmented manner and lacked a unified legislative approach.
In May 2023, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) passed a resolution officially recognizing the political regime in Russia as rashism.
In May 2025, the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt as a basis the draft law On the Principles of State Policy of the National Memory of the Ukrainian People.
On August 21, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on national memory and the fight against rashism.
