Potap’s title was not revoked: Rada failed to request the president
Фото: Instagram Потапа
The Verkhovna Rada did not support the sending of a parliamentary request to the President of Ukraine to strip Oleksiy Potapenko, known as Potap, of the honorary title of “Honored Artist of Ukraine”. 198 people’s deputies out of the required 226 voted for the corresponding decision.
The authors of the request, in particular, were MPs Solomiya Bobrovska and Yaroslav Yurchyshyn. The initiative did not receive the required number of votes in parliament.
The largest number of deputies voted for sending the request from the “Servant of the People” party – 136. It was also supported by 18 deputies from “European Solidarity”, nine from “Batkivshchyna”, 12 from “Holos”, five from “For the Future”, 10 from “Trust” and seven non-faction members. At the same time, only one deputy voted from the “Platform for Life and Peace”, and “Revival of Ukraine” did not give a single vote.
The question of stripping Potap of his title arose after an electronic petition was registered on August 28. In early September, it collected the necessary 25,000 signatures for consideration.
Bobrovska previously stated that the state must respond to the actions of public figures who, in her opinion, disrespect the Ukrainian language and culture. She recalled that on June 27, 2020, by presidential decree No. 254/2020, Potapenko was awarded the title of “Honored Artist of Ukraine” for his significant personal contribution to the cultural and educational development of the state.
The MP also claimed that after the start of the full-scale war, Potap left Ukraine to permanently reside abroad, and his public activities and collaboration with Russian artists, in her opinion, contribute to the spread of Russian narratives. These statements are Bobrovskaya’s position.
At the same time, the Rada’s decision does not automatically strip Potapenko of his title. It is precisely because the parliament did not support sending a corresponding request to the president.
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