Izyum renames 19 streets as part of ‘de-Russification of toponyms’
Authorities in the city of Izyum, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, have decided to rename 19 streets in order to “de-Russify toponyms,” according to the city’s deputy mayor Volodymyr Matsokin.
According to the order, which he posted on Facebook, the changes include:
- Vladimir Vysotsky Street will become Steve Jobs Street;
- Viktor Tsoy Street will be renamed in honor of the Ukrainian musician Kuzma Skryabin;
- a street named after the Soviet commander Ivan Chernyakhovsky will become Bucha Street;
- Putinaya Street (which is related to the Russian word for “route,” but sounds like Putin), will be renamed Roman Shukhevych Street, in honor of the commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
Izyum was occupied by the Russian Army from April to September of 2022. After the Russian Army’s retreat, a mass grave of civilians was found in the city.
After the start of the war, many Ukrainian cities began actively renaming streets and taking down monuments connected with Russia, though this process had already begun before Russia’s full-scale invasion. In 2017, in connection with a law on decommunization, Izyum renamed Lenin Square Lennon Square.
In Moscow, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, squares were named in honor of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.” In other Russian cities, toponyms in honor of leaders of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” including deceased separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko, began to appear.
In the West, after the start of the war in Ukraine, some countries renamed streets where Russian diplomatic missions are located. In Prague, the Russian Embassy is now located on Ukrainian Heroes Street. In Vilnius, the Russian Embassy is on Heroes of Ukraine Street. And in Riga, it’s on Independence of Ukraine Street.
