The Institute of National Memory called for clarification of conclusions about Bulgakovʼs belonging to the symbols of Russiaʼs imperial policy

The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINM) called on the expert commission to once again analyze the objects associated with the writer Mykhailo Bulgakov for belonging to the symbols of Russian imperial policy.

This was reported to the UINM.

The institute emphasizes that the recognition or non-recognition of objects associated with Bulgakov as symbols of Russian imperial policy is not a "Bulgakov ban". Therefore, the conclusion of the commission regarding Bulgakov is not an instruction to close the Literary Memorial Museum of Bulgakov in Kyiv.

At the same time, the Institute notes that if the writerʼs disdainful attitude towards Ukrainian statehood, the idea of an independent Ukrainian republic, and clear sympathies for Russian chauvinist politics are confirmed, the issue of further normalization of his figure in public space will be raised.

"Decolonial liberation cannot take place without a qualitative understanding of its past by Ukrainian society. The role of museums in this process is one of the key ones," explained the Institute of National Memory.

The Institute calls on the public to divide the issue of glorification in public space and access to the results of creative activity.

• On April 3, the writer Mikhail Bulgakov was recognized as a symbol of Russian imperial policy. Therefore, the use of his name in the names of a number of objects and the establishment of monuments in his honor will be considered propaganda of Russian imperial policy. The expert commission of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance considers Bulgakov an imperialist in outlook and an ardent Ukrainophobe.