Two streets renamed in Mykolaiv as part of decolonization efforts

Mykolaiv continues to implement the policy of decolonization and overcoming the totalitarian past in the city space. City council members approved a decision to change the names of two streets that previously symbolized Russian or Soviet influence.

This was reported by the Mykolaiv City Council.

The decision was made on February 3, removing the names of Russian figures in the Matviyivka neighborhood from the city map. Dmitriy Ulyanov Street and Komarov Street, which have been bearing the imprint of Russification for decades, have finally received their Ukrainian names.

According to the new decision, they became 1st Naberezhna and Ocheretyana streets, respectively. This step is part of a larger process of restoring the authentic identity of the southern region and finally severing ties with the imperial past.

Earlier, in Mykolaiv, members of the street renaming commission expressed surprise at the change in the position of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory<b> </b>regarding the figure of <b>Mykhailo Faleev</b>, one of the city's founders. This change relates to the application of the Law 'On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and Decolonization of Toponymy'.

The UINP has recently published updated lists of individuals whose objects dedicated to them do or do not contain symbols of Russian imperial policy. In these new lists, some figures whose names were previously subject to decolonization are no longer considered to be associated with Russian imperial policy.

In Mykolaiv, this applies to streets that have already been renamed in 2024: Faleevska, Bryullov, Herzen, Korolenko, Nekrasov, Pirogov, Pavlov, Ryleev, Chekhov, and Tsiolkovsky. As a reminder, the sculpture of Mikhail Faleev on Naberezhna was dismantled in late October 2022 to protect it from shelling.

Катерина Глушко