The renaming of toponyms in Ukraine is a topic that does not lose its relevance and causes deep public discussions. Recent changes in the names of streets, cities and regions have caused a split in public opinion. Some consider this process a necessary step on the way to separation from the Soviet past and Russian influence, while others, such as analyst Oleksiy Kopytko, warn of the danger of rash renamings that could lead to the loss of important historical symbols and giving Russia a part of the Ukrainian past.
The tape is full of disputes about the "decolonization" of toponyms. What in Kharkiv, what in Dnipro, what in Odessa.
Renaming will always provoke controversy, and I currently have no opportunity to take part in it objectively.
I will note only two points.
First
It is already obvious that the absolutely bad and damaging approach to "decolonization" consists in gradually giving Russia the entire topic of victory over Nazism. We will soon come to the fact that in the Second World War Ukrainians fought only in the ranks of the UPA. And the Nazis themselves left the captured cities. They simply changed their mind!
What will happen next is quite obvious. At the very first elections after the war, there will be a rollback, a new round of scandals and discord. Very much like someone's political stock playing against the country.
Second
As an addition to the stupidity mentioned above, there is a clear course to "decolonize" the entire scientific and technical heritage created by Ukrainians during the Soviet period. Someone who was too squeamish decided to present this layer to the Kremlin as well.
For example, the renaming of Akademik Hlushko (a native and honorary citizen of the city) avenue in Odessa to Yaroslav the Wise avenue is something that, in my opinion, requires a very serious explanation. Why?
Are we ashamed of one of the most famous designers of rocket engines in the world? Are we ashamed that Ukrainians and natives of Ukraine largely built the ENTIRE Soviet space program? Are we ashamed that the son of an academician who lives in Moscow signed up as a missionary and decided to go to Donetsk after 2014? Let him burn in hell!
This is what I wrote about during the discussion about the name of the metro station in Kharkiv, that is, the question of the scale and level of the bar we set for ourselves. Anything can be named after Yaroslav the Wise. And it does not require any mental effort. This is a very worthy name, this is one of the greatest figures of our history. But when with the help of this name it is washed away that Ukrainians are strong in science and technology, where we have nosebleeds to regain our positions — that's evil, isn't it? Are those achievements no longer a value?
Someone is clearly infected with the idea of forcing Ukraine into the narrow framework of an "agrarian superstate" without traditions and, accordingly, without a future.
It's time to realize: when a society/country does not rethink, but simply gives something of its own, earned with sweat and blood, it gives not a set of fables about the past, but rather people and territory.
First in the mental sense, and then in the physical sense.
We already have the tragic example of Crimea. Ukraine renounced the Crimean War of 1853-1856, completely giving it to Russia. Although it was a war that the Ukrainian people carried on their shoulders - from Odesa and Shostka to Luhansk. And there is a lot of evidence for this. Since 1954, Moscow has spread the myth of Sevastopol as the "city of Russian sailors." And in Kyiv, even after 2014, they were not against it.
The Russians have a monopoly. And this is the direct fault of narrow-minded politicians and officials who were responsible for historical memory.
It's time to draw some conclusions.
