Ukrainian cities of Dnipropetrovsk and Dniprodzerzhynsk were given new names
Ukrainian Parliamentarians decided to rename the major Ukrainian regional center Dnipropetrovsk to “Dnipro” and Dniprodzerzhynsk to “Kamianske” within the adopted law on de-communization. The MPs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted in favor of renaming both cities and a number of others under the said law. According to the 112.ua website, the draft of this resolution was approved by 247 Parliamentarians after much lively debate.
The People’s Deputy from the Opposition Bloc, Oleksandr Vilkul expressed protest, stating that Dnipropetrovsk should retain its old name, having devoted it to Saint Peter. Earlier, the Dnipropetrovsk City Council decided to retain the name of the city and local MPs made the relevant request to the Verkhovna Rada.
Seventy-four settlements in the Donbas; seventy-five in Crimea
The Ukrainian Parliament decided to rename 74 settlements in Donbas in May 2016. Two hundred and forty-five MPs voted in favor of this draft law. The city of Artemivsk, Perevalsk district, Luhansk region was renamed “Kipucheye” and the city of Stakhanov was renamed “Kadiyevka.” The Verkhovna Rada also decided to rename 75 human settlements in Russian-annexed Crimea.
The package of draft laws on de-communization was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in April 2016. The renaming of human settlements took place within this package of draft laws. It also includes the resolution on the establishment of the ban on symbols of the Communist Party. Afterwards, a list of 520 Soviet party officials was published, whose names were prohibited for civil naming conventions.