Ukraine’s parliament, called the Verkhovna Rada, has passed legislation to ban all symbols and “propaganda” of Communism and nazism, seeking to sweep aside the troubling struggles of the country’s past and present.

Even with a shaky cease-fire with Russian-backed rebels holding the east, relations with Moscow are at an all-time low, and the bill reflects that.  It means that all streets named after Marx and Lenin – and there are quite a few – will have to be renamed.  Most statues of the Communist icons were torn down during the Euromaidan movement that toppled the former pro-Russian regime, but some remain.  And there’s a big, giant stainless steel “Motherland” statue in Kiev, standing 62 meters tall and weighing 560 tons – including a 13 by eight meter shield with a Communist Hammer and Sickle (although sometimes they put a Microsoft Windows logo on it).

Russia is not happy, and immediately condemned the Rada both for equating Communism and nazism, and for the timing of the legislation – just before the 70th anniversary of the victory of nazi Germany next month.

“Russia does and will preserve the memory of the war, and most importantly, it will remember the lessons this war taught the entire humankind,” said Dimitry Peskov, chief spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  “It is regretful that against the backdrop of such decisions and such claims, very many veterans will find themselves with tears in their eyes in the weeks preceding the V-Day anniversary.”

But there are some unanswered questions about the banning of nazi symbols and propaganda.  The notorious Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard uses the nazi Social-National Assembly logo as its symbol, also known as the wolfsangel.  The unit’s arm patch shows the disgusting figure – resembling the letter N bisected with a vertical line – many times larger than the tiny Ukrainian Trident at the bottom.  Nothing was said about that.

The anti-Semitic nazi group Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) announced it was integrating with the Ukrainian military, and its leader would become an advisor to Ukraine’s army chief.

Both of these groups have influential sponsors in the Rada, and for now, appear to be exempt from the new ban on propaganda.