List of streets renamed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Summarize Fact Check

The spokesperson of the local council of San Ġwann in Malta rejected proposals to rename Triq Antonio Schembri, where the Russian embassy is located, or any of the surrounding streets, citing the impact it would have on residents of the street in question, such as forcing them to change their ID cards, driving licences and bank details.^[1]

The naming committee of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden, opposed calls to rename Gjörwellsgatan, where the Russian embassy in Stockholm is located, to "Zelenskygatan" ("Zelensky Street"). Its chairperson Olle Zetterberg cited the fact that streets in Stockholm usually aren't named after living people, and that there is no "good reason" to reject the current name.^[3] Instead, a section of a nearby park was renamed "Fria Ukrainas plats" ("Free Ukraine Place"; see below).

The City Council of The Hague, Netherlands rejected proposals to rename Andries Bickerweg, where the Russian embassy is located, stating that street names should only be changed out of "extreme necessity in the context of findability and safety", while also citing costs, paperwork and possible objections.^[4] In Zaandam, Netherlands some citizens changed certain street names by themselves by adding stickers on street signs, but these were removed.^[5] The same happened in a street in Prague, in the Czech Republic.^[6]

In Latvia, the renaming of 93 streets "glorifying the communist regime or russification policies" was proposed by the a group of historians of the Public Memory Center association. The surveyed municipalities conceptually did not object to the renaming, but cited associated difficulties and costs for residents and entrepreneurs located on these streets.^[7]

The Russian aggression in Ukraine has led the public to awaken from a misunderstood tolerance to the colonial legacy of the Soviets, which already borders on cowardice. The public has become more sensitive and more discerning. A draft law prepared by public activists on the renaming of the streets and other names of the Soviet regime has been submitted to the Saeima. The removal of these Soviet and Russian imperialist markers is not a technical issue. It is a matter of thinking and perceptions of the world of Latvians, and Latvian citizens. It's a matter of seeing ourselves as a European nation with our national culture and values. In this world, there is no room for signs of the ideology of Soviet invaders and Russian imperialism.

Riga City Council renamed streets named after Soviet Latvian Lieutenant General Detlavs Brantkalns [lv; ru], Soviet Russian author Valentin Pikul, Russian city Staraya Russa and Riga-born Soviet Russian mathematician Mstislav Keldysh.^[9] Rēzekne Municipality renamed streets named after the Latvian communist activists Lidija Samuilova and Jānis Zvīdra, as well as the Pioneer movement.^[10] Krāslava Municipality renamed streets named after the Bolshevik revolutionary Konstantin Eremeev, the Soviet Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova, and the Soviet Russian horticulturist Ivan Michurin.^[11] The choices of some new street names have stirred historical discussions between the residents of these streets, official institutions and historians.^[12]

As a consequence of support to Ukraine from various countries, streets have also been renamed in Ukraine in their honor.^[13]

• List of Ukrainian toponyms that were changed as part of decommunization in 2016
• List of renamed cities in Ukraine
• List of politically motivated renamings
• List of street names changed around diplomatic mission buildings for political reasons
• Derussification in Ukraine
  • Demolition of monuments to Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine