The decision to rename Zaporozhye should be canceled - language spokesman

The plenipotentiary for the protection of the state language, Taras Kremin, asked the National Commission for the State Language Standard, in particular the head of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Oksen Lisov, to repeal the decision on changing the names of cities and towns. In particular, Zaporozhye and Brovary, whose spellings were planned to be changed, were mentioned in the list.

The language ombudsman's office appealed to the Ministry of Education and Culture against changing the name of Zaporozhye. According to the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights, the list of place names should be deleted, and it is recommended to replace them in accordance with the Ukrainian spelling. This was reported in the press service of the language ombudsman.

Kremin calls on the Minister to instruct the National Commission for Language Standards to adopt a new decision as soon as possible, which will be fully in line with Art. 8 sec. 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propagation of Russian Imperial Policy” in Ukraine and decolonization of toponymy.

The decision of the CC must contain a list of mandatory changes to the names of places that do not meet the standards of the state language, as well as clear recommendations regarding their renaming.

According to the language ombudsman, the list of local governments includes a large number of place names that meet the standards of the state language. In particular, Zaporozhye, Peremoha, Zoryanye, Myrne, Travneve, Mayak, Molodizhne, United, etc.

According to Taras Kremen, most of the recommendations do not provide the correct version of the name, but contain strange wording “to justify the desirability of keeping the current name or proposing a new name in accordance with the law, which does not meet the requirements of the Law.”

According to him, he hopes that the misunderstanding that caused the negative reaction of society will be corrected.

Earlier, the State Commission for Language Standards stated that more than 1 400 settlements in Ukraine needed to be renamed.

Recall that the Law of Ukraine “On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and Decolonization of Toponyms” enters into force on July 27, 2023. It will help overcome the effects of Russian imperial policy in Ukraine and ensure that the names of geographical objects are brought into line with the standards of the state language.

It should be noted that the National Commission also recommended changing the names of several towns in the Lviv region. This applies in particular to Chervonograd, Krasny and 22 other villages in the Lviv region.

Attitude of Ukrainians to the name change

Most Ukrainians are positive about the renaming of toponyms whose names are associated with the USSR, Russia or the Russian Empire and their characters. This is evidenced by the results of a survey by the Foundation for Democratic Initiatives and the Razumkov Center, published on January 20, 2023.

There are already precedents in Ukraine when the regional center was changed, leaving the name of the region - Dnieper and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Kropyvnytskyi, but Kirovohrad Oblast.