The Kherson City Council resolved at its September 26 meeting to rename two major streets in the city’s center. Councilor Stanislav Troshyn maintains that the Khersonites need to not just get rid of Soviet names for streets and squares, but return them their original names, too. Therefore, the councilors have split Lenina Street in two, with the segment running between Ushakova Avenue and Komunariv Street renamed Soborna Street, while the segment running between Komunariv Street and Horkoho Street has been renamed Hretska Street. Karla Marksa Street, also running through the city’s center, has been renamed Potiomkinska Street. The resolution was supported by the Party of Regions representatives and the opposition Fatherland Party councilors alike. Unsurprisingly, all six Communist councilors spoke out strongly against the proposal at the meeting and then voted against it.
The fact that the pressure of concerned citizens in the southern and eastern parts of the country is forcing local authorities to gradually rename streets, parks and squares, getting rid of the names of Soviet leaders and ideologues, is certainly a positive trend. However, while getting rid of streets named after Lenin and Marx, we are having imperial toponyms coming back instead, such as the street named after Prince Potemkin of the Russian Empire, the favorite of Empress Catherine II. Even though he is considered the founder of the city, this historical figure is ambivalent. Kherson intellectual community is complaining it was not consulted by the city council.
“Renaming Lenina Street to Soborna Street is a good decision. One can say that finally, historical justice has triumphed in Kherson. But why should we rename Karla Marksa Street to Potiomkinska Street?” outraged chairperson of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine’s Kherson Branch Vasyl Zahorodniuk tells The Day. “Such a trend has no place in a normal city of an independent country. Kherson has a monument to Potemkin, Potemkin Park... Is it not enough? Had the councilors consulted the intellectual community, we would have proposed them to honor someone else. For example, we are long overdue for a street or a park to be named after the famous writer Mykola Cherniavsky. He had long lived in Kherson and led the local branch of Prosvita Society. Overall, Kherson, unfortunately, still has too many Soviet-named streets, squares and parks, such as 40-richchia Zhovtnia (40th Anniversary of the October Revolution) Avenue, Leninist Komsomol Park, Lenin Park, etc.”
