In Ukraine, it is proposed to create a state register of victims of political repression and introduce a separate Day of Remembrance

The issues of documenting political repressions, preserving archival materials, establishing the names of the deceased and victims, as well as ensuring access to historical documents remain components of work in the field of preserving historical heritage. Special attention is also paid to preserving places of memory and researching past events.

Against this background, a petition was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers calling for the implementation of a set of state measures to honor the memory of Ukrainians who became victims of political and ethnically motivated repressions in 1930–1947.

The authors of the appeal ask the government to initiate and support measures aimed at restoring historical justice and properly honoring the memory of Ukrainians who became victims of political repressions, mass killings, deportations, forced resettlements, and other forms of persecution on the territory of modern Ukraine, as well as on Ukrainian ethnic lands now part of Poland.

The appeal states that these are crimes and persecutions committed against the Ukrainian population by Polish state bodies, military formations, and other structures that operated during various historical periods from 1930 to 1947.

Special emphasis is placed on the need to preserve the memory of Ukrainian servicemen and participants in the liberation movement, in particular servicemen of the Ukrainian Galician Army, members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, as well as other Ukrainian military formations and partisan units who died or were repressed.

What is proposed

Petition No. 41/010336-26ep  proposes:

• to recognize at the state level the necessity of comprehensive research, documentation, and honoring the memory of Ukrainians who became victims of political and ethnically motivated repressions, deportations, and other forms of violence in 1930–1947;
• to create a Unified State Register of Ukrainian victims of political and ethnically motivated repressions with nominal data about the repressed, deported, forcibly resettled, killed, shot, and other victims;
• to create a separate centralized state register of deceased and repressed Ukrainian servicemen and participants in the liberation movement;
• to create a unified state digital archive of documents, historical materials, photographs, maps, and eyewitness testimonies, ensuring its continuous replenishment and open access in accordance with the law;
• to integrate existing archival documents and research results stored in state archives, museums, scientific institutions, and the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory into the state registers and digital archive;
• to initiate cooperation with Poland and other countries to gain access to archival documents necessary to establish a complete nominal list of victims;
• to provide state support for scientific research, archival and search work, search for burial sites, exhumations, arrangement of places of memory, and construction of memorials;
• to introduce a Day of Remembrance for Ukrainians — victims of political, ethnically motivated repressions, deportations, and other forms of violence from 1930 to 1947;
• to develop a long-term state program for preserving the memory of Ukrainians who suffered as a result of political repressions and ethnically motivated violence;
• to ensure openness of historical research results and create a publicly accessible electronic database and an interactive map of burial and memorial sites.

The authors believe that creating a centralized state system for accounting victims, digitizing archives, supporting scientific research, and properly honoring the memory of the deceased will contribute to restoring historical justice and preserving national memory.

It should be noted that currently in Ukraine, the Day of Remembrance for victims of political repressions is already observed annually on the third Sunday of May. At the same time, the authors of the petition propose to introduce a separate Day of Remembrance for Ukrainians — victims of political, ethnically motivated repressions, deportations, and other forms of violence from 1930 to 1947.

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