In Ukraine, they want to rename Independence Day: what new name for the holiday is being proposed

In Ukraine, it is proposed to change the name of the state holiday celebrated on August 24 — Independence Day of Ukraine. The initiators believe that a more historically accurate name is "Day of Restoration of Independence of Ukraine."

The corresponding petition has been registered on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and addressed to Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The author of the appeal asks to support the initiative to rename the state holiday and to initiate the necessary legislative changes. In his opinion, such a decision will contribute to establishing historical truth, strengthening national memory, and forming a holistic understanding of Ukrainian statehood.

The petition No.41/010030-26ep states that on August 24, 1991, Ukraine was not created as a new state. The author emphasizes that on this day the Ukrainian people restored their independence after a long period of Ukrainian lands being under the rule of other states and decades of existence as part of the USSR.

The appeal also highlights that the history of Ukrainian statehood spans over a thousand years. Its origins are linked to Rus with its center in Kyiv, and the tradition of state-building, as the author notes, continued through the Galician-Volhynian state, the Cossack state (Hetmanate), the Ukrainian People's Republic, the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, and other forms of Ukrainian political organization.

It separately recalls the declaration of independence of the Ukrainian People's Republic on January 22, 1918, and the Act of Unification of the UPR and WUPR on January 22, 1919. According to the author of the petition, despite the loss of statehood due to external aggression and occupation, the Ukrainian people never lost the right to their own state and continued the struggle for its restoration. That is why the events of August 24, 1991, are proposed to be considered as the restoration of independence, not its first acquisition.

The petition also provides examples of other European countries. In particular, it notes that Lithuania celebrates the Day of Restoration of the State and the Day of Restoration of Independence, Latvia — the Day of Restoration of Independence, and Estonia emphasizes the restoration of its statehood after Soviet occupation. Poland also considers the independence of 1918 as the restoration of statehood after a long period of partitions of the country.

The author of the appeal believes that renaming the state holiday will have a number of positive consequences, including:

• affirmation of the historical truth about the continuity of the Ukrainian state-building tradition;
• strengthening of national consciousness and historical memory of Ukrainian citizens;
• refutation of Russian propaganda narratives that Ukraine was allegedly created only after the collapse of the USSR;
• emphasis on the continuity of the modern Ukrainian state regarding previous stages of Ukrainian state-building;
• strengthening international understanding that Ukraine is one of the oldest state-building traditions in Europe, not a "young state";
• enhancement of historical and civic education for future generations of Ukrainians.

At the same time, the author emphasizes that renaming the holiday does not change the significance of the events of August 24, 1991, but only more accurately reflects their historical meaning and place in the centuries-long struggle of the Ukrainian people for their own statehood.

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