Liberation of Russia’s heritage
Kyiv renames hundreds of towns
19.09.2024, 14:41
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Numerous towns in Ukraine bear the names of Soviet or Russian heroes and officials. The Ukrainian parliament has now voted to rename more than 300 towns and villages. The initiative is not without controversy.
The Ukrainian parliament has renamed a total of 327 towns in the country. The measure is intended to rid the country of its Soviet and Russian heritage, said one of the authors of the law, Roman Losynskyj, on Facebook. He wrote of a “historic decision” that will, however, be followed by further renamings.
According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, 281 MPs voted for the legislative initiative. There are 450 MPs in total. Losynskyi cited Novomoskovsk, Krasnohrad, Druzhba and Pervomaisk as examples of the renamings that have now been decided, which will in future be called Samar, Berestin, Chutir-Mykhailivskiy and Sokolohirsk.
While some settlements reverted to their pre-revolutionary names, Novomoskovsk, which has been reminiscent of Moscow since 1794, was given a completely new name. In recent years, several cities have been renamed to commemorate Soviet party leaders.
Renamings are controversial
Thus, the city of Dnipropetrovsk, with a population of one million, became Dnipro in honor of the then Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic, Grigori Petrovsky, Kirovohrad became Kropyvnytskyi (after the party leader Sergei Kirov), and Artyomovsk became Bakhmut (after the revolutionary Artyom).
The campaign to rename the city, which, in the words of its authors, is intended to serve the purpose of liberating the city from Russia’s colonial legacy, is not without controversy. On Tuesday, several MPs blocked the lectern during the debate in order to postpone the vote.