Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture, Tetiana Berezhna believes that the current grounds for revoking the title of "Honored Artist of Ukraine" are outdated and need to be revised.
"Indeed, the grounds for revoking this title [Honored Artist of Ukraine], as provided for in current legislation, no longer meet the demands of the present day. Therefore, it would likely be a good idea to review them and make them more suitable for a state of war, when a quick response is needed," Berezhna told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
The deputy prime minister said that since the revocation of titles is regulated by law, changing the list of grounds for such revocation will not happen overnight.
According to the Law On State Awards of Ukraine, such awards may be revoked: upon a court conviction in which a person awarded a state honor is convicted of a serious or particularly serious crime, a criminal offense against the foundations of Ukraine’s national security, against peace, the security of humanity, and the international legal order, as well as a number of other criminal offenses; by a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on the application of special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions), enacted by a decree of the President of Ukraine, whereby a sanction in the form of revocation of a Ukrainian state award was imposed on a person who had been awarded a state award.
As reported, on September 3, a petition was posted on the website of calling for the initiation of proceedings to strip performer Oleksiy Potapenko (stage name Potap) of the honorary title "Honored Artist of Ukraine" reached the number of votes required for consideration.
According to the petition’s author, the grounds for revocation include: the public use and promotion of Russian-language cultural content; public statements and actions regarding the Ukrainian language that could be perceived as devaluing, ridiculing, or opposing Ukrainian national identity; public collaboration and the creation of joint media content with citizens of Russia and representatives of the Russian entertainment industry; and actual residence and professional activities outside of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Oleksiy Potapenko the title of "Honored Artist of Ukraine" in June 2020.
