The Ministry of Culture has determined a list of the ten most common Russian urban names, which are recommended for renaming in the first place.
This is stated in the message of the ministry.
The list was compiled by the Expert Council on Overcoming the Effects of Russification and Totalitarianism. "Having analyzed the situation in the toponymic space of Ukraine, the Expert Council drew attention to the fact that a significant number of proper names, denoting such elements of the spatial structure of the city (streets, squares, avenues, etc) are associated with Russians, whose life and activity (according by and large) have no relation to Ukraine, our history, science, culture, and who in most cases were not born here," the agency explained.
The list of the most frequently used toponyms includes:
- Yuri Gagarin;
- Oleksandr Pushkin;
- Ivan Michurin;
- Valery Chkalov;
- Maxim Gorky;
- Yuriy Lermontov;
- Oleksandr Suvorov;
- Volodymyr Mayakovsky;
- Oleksandr Matrosov;
- Volodymyr Komarov.
In order to minimize the influence of Soviet-Russian narratives on the worldview of Ukrainians, establish historical justice and restore Ukrainian historical and national toponymy, the Expert Council recommends that the local authorities consider the possibility of replacing the mentioned names.
- In June, the Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Drama Theater was renamed in Kyiv, removing the words "Russian drama" from its name.
- 193 toponyms related to Russia and Belarus are being renamed in Kryvyi Rih.