The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory has recognized that the use of the name of the Satyrik Mikhail Zhvanetsky in the names of geographical objects, legal entities and monuments is a manifestation of "propaganda of Russian imperial policy". Such a conclusion was published in the relevant document prepared by the experts of the institution.
Despite the fact that Zhvanetsky was born in Odessa, most of his life and creativity was connected with Russian cities-Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and Moscow. His creative work was created exclusively in Russian, and the satirist himself was repeatedly awarded by the state awards of the Russian Federation, which, according to UIPP, testifies to his integration into the cultural field of the aggressor state.
Although Zhvanetsky was introduced in 2015 to the so -called "white list" of cultural figures who opposed the annexation of the Crimea, later the statements of the satirist cast doubt on his position. In particular, during a speech in 2014, he stated that "Crimea was lost, not returned", and expressed the opinion that the issue of the future of Ukraine should be resolved by the United States and Russia. The National Memory Institute noted that such rhetoric is fully consistent with the Russian narrative on Ukraine as a non -permanent state.
In 2019, Zhvanetsky also visited the occupied Crimea, where he starred in the movie "Odessa steam", created to order the propaganda channel "Russia 1". The project was attended by actors included in the Ukrainian list of persons who threaten national security, including Fedor Dobronravov and Mikhail Porechenko.
In view of this, WINP concluded that the honoring of Zhvanetsky in the Ukrainian public space is a manifestation of Russification - a politician that imposes Russian language and culture, displacing Ukrainian and reducing the presence of Ukrainian identity.
