A 'Kyiv Road' road sign positioned opposite the Russian Embassy in the City of Westminster, London
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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.
The new name notably uses the Ukrainian spelling (Kyiv) rather than the French spelling (Kiev), as the latter is identical to the city's name in Russian.
For two weeks, the city was renamed Ucrania (Ukraine). Sixteen streets and plazas were renamed after Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Mariúpol, Jarkov, Jerson and Odesa, along with other areas in the world experiencing conflicts.
Located next to the Russian embassy in Stockholm. A bus stop close to the embassy, previously named Fyrverkarbacken, was also renamed Fria Ukrainas plats in June 2023.
Riga is the capital, the primate, and the largest city of Latvia, as well as one of the most populous cities in the Baltic States. Home to 605,273 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Brovary is a city in Kyiv Oblast, northern Ukraine, situated to the east of the capital Kyiv and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It serves as the administrative centre of Brovary Raion. Brovary hosts the administration of Brovary urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It has a population of 109,806.
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, 391 km (243 mi) southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnipro River, after which its name is derived. Dnipro is the administrative centre of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It hosts the administration of Dnipro urban hromada. Dnipro has a population of 968,502.
Rivne is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast. Administratively, Rivne is incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does not belong to the raion. It has a population of 243,873.
The earliest known usage of the name Ukraine appears in the Hypatian Codex of c. 1425 under the year 1187 in reference to a part of the territory of Kievan Rus'. The use of "the Ukraine" has been officially deprecated by the Ukrainian government and many English-language media publications.
Myrnohrad, formerly Dymytrov, is a city in Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It was a city of regional significance before the status was abolished in 2020. Population: 46,098.
The Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders, unofficially known simply as the Victory Monument, was a memorial complex in Victory Park, Pārdaugava, Riga, Latvia, erected in 1985 to commemorate the Red Army soldiers that recaptured Riga and the rest of Latvia at the end of World War II (1944–1945). The complex consisted of a 79-metre tall obelisk that consisted of five columns topped by five-pointed star, and two groups of sculptures – Homeland the Mother and a band of three soldiers.
The Embassy of Ukraine in Moscow was the chief diplomatic mission of Ukraine in the Russian Federation. It was located at 18 Leontyevsky Lane in Moscow.
Latvia–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between Latvia and Russia. Latvia has an embassy in Moscow. The Russian Federation has an embassy in Riga.
Latvia – Ukraine relations are foreign relations between Latvia and Ukraine. Until 1991, both countries were part of the Soviet Union and before 1918 part of the Russian Empire. Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 12, 1992.
Zviahel is a city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. The city serves as the administrative center of Zviahel Raion (district). Population: 55,086.
Decommunization in Ukraine started during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and expanded afterwards. Following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity and beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Ukrainian government approved laws that banned communist symbols, as well as symbols of Nazism as ideologies deemed to be totalitarian.
Casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian War include six deaths during the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, 14,200–14,400 military and civilian deaths during the War in Donbas, and up to 500,000 estimated casualties during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Action Party, in 2004-2008 and 2016-2018 Eurosceptic Action Party is a political organization in Latvia. It was founded under the name "Eurosceptics" before the 2003 referendum on Latvia's accession to the European Union, merging the party "Be a Human" and the public organization "Movement for Independence". The most prominent representatives of the organization were Normunds Grostiņš, artist Juris Dimiters, publicist Jānis Kučinskis and Viktors Dinēvičs. It was initially a left-wing party that later shifted rightwards.
Valerii Fedorovych Zaluzhnyi is a Ukrainian four-star general and diplomat who is currently serving as Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 27 July 2021 until 8 February 2024. He was also concurrently a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
The demolition of monuments to dedicated to Russian poet and playwright Alexander Pushkin in Ukraine started during the Russo-Ukrainian War. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it has become a widespread phenomenon and dubbed by Ukrainians Pushkinopad, a pun literally translated as "Pushkinfall", akin to the "Leninfall" during the decommunization process. This wave of dismantling is part of the process of derussification in Ukraine.
Derussification in Ukraine is a process of removing Russian influence from the post-Soviet country of Ukraine. This derussification started after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and intensified with the demolition of monuments to Lenin during Euromaidan in 2014 and the further systemic process of decommunization in Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian War gave a strong impetus to the process. Along with decommunization, derussification has been described as one of the components of a larger process of decolonization in Ukraine.
Beginning in July 2022, a series of explosions and fires occurred on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, from where the Russian Army had launched its offensive on Southern Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Occupied since 2014, Crimea was a base for the subsequent Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast and Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
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