Before the renaming process started, there were 128 streets in Poltava region named after Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
Oleh Pustovhar, a representative of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory in Poltava region, shared this information in an interview with Ukrinform.
“To give you an idea of the extent to which the public space was marked by Russian enemy narratives, I’ll provide some figures. They show that the toponymy of Poltava region was not much different from that of Ryazan or Volgograd. The most common name was Yuri Gagarin (330 places), while there were none dedicated to Leonid Kadeniuk. Now, many communities have honored Ukraine’s first cosmonaut. The region also had 194 May Day streets and as many as 128 streets glorifying the troubadour of the Russian Empire, Alexander Pushkin,” Pustovhar noted.
He also pointed out that Russian occupiers use Pushkin’s name as an ideological weapon: for instance, they displayed banners in occupied Kherson with the quote, “Kherson – the southern land of Russia.” Additionally, the poem “To the Slanderers of Russia” is now being used in Russian propaganda to justify the occupation of Ukraine.
In Poltava, for example, Pushkin Street was renamed in honor of Yulian Matviychuk, a participant of the Revolution of Dignity, an advocate for Ukrainianization in Poltava, and a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Many other streets previously named after Pushkin have been renamed in honor of Ukrainian poet Vasyl Stus.
Until recently, Poltava region had 90 streets named after Stalin-era pomologist Ivan Michurin, but none honoring Ukrainian pomologist and creator of the famous Renet Simirenko apple variety. Now, several cities and villages have renamed streets in honor of the Simirenko family.
Other removed names include: 82 streets named after Russian pilot Valery Chkalov, 72 streets named after Soviet military commander Mykola Vatutin, 70 streets honoring Maxim Gorky (Peshkov), a Stalinist, 52 streets named after Viktor Komarov, 39 after Oleg Koshevoy, 38 after Vladimir Mayakovsky, 31 after Mikhail Lermontov, 29 after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, 18 after Mikhail Kutuzov, 12 after Leo Tolstoy, 10 named Partyzanska (Partisan), four named Moscow Street.
Pustovhar highlighted a particularly striking case in the village of Hrianchykha, Hoholivska community of Myrhorod district. The village had a street named after Boris Godunov, a Moscow Tsar from the Godunov dynasty who ruled from 1587 to 1598. Eventually, at the suggestion of local residents, it was renamed Fermerska (Farmer) Street.
“Where is Poltava region, and where is a Moscow Tsar? What connection did Boris Godunov have to this village?” Pustovhar remarked.
As reported earlier, from July 27, 2023, to April 27, 2024, Poltava region renamed 3,157 toponyms, with 361 other names changed later.
