Law On Decolonization Provides For Renaming Of All Pro-Russian Names Of Cities, Villages And Streets Within 6 Months

The adopted law on the decolonization of toponymy and the regulation of the use of geographical names in populated areas of Ukraine provides for the renaming of all names of cities, villages and streets that are associated with the Russian Federation, the USSR and the Russian Empire.

This is stated in the text of the document, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

Within two months from the date of publication of this law, the National Commission for State Language Standards shall publish on its official website a list of villages, towns, and cities whose names do not meet the standards of the state language, and recommendations for bringing the names of such villages, towns, and cities into compliance with state language standards.

Within a six-month period, the Verkhovna Rada makes a decision on renaming settlements, taking into account proposals submitted by local self-government bodies, military administrations of settlements, military-civilian administrations of settlements, and recommendations of the National Commission on State Language Standards.

According to the law, settlements cannot have names that:

• related to the implementation of Russian imperial policy, which glorify and justify Russian imperial policy, in particular names in honor of the Russian Empire (Moscow Kingdom), the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, the Russian State, the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Russian Federation;
• are the names of persons who held leading positions in the authorities and management, political organizations, parties, armed formations of the above-mentioned state entities.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in March, the Verkhovna Rada banned the naming of objects that glorify or symbolize Russia.