On the 4th of February, the Ukrainian Parliament approved changing the names of 175 towns, villages, and districts. The momentous onomastic sweep is a part of the government’s ongoing effort to “de-communize” the nation. Many of the new names that have been chosen are older names which existed before the Soviet influence.
The onomastic makeover has not been with criticism. According to the February 11th issue of Radio Free Europe, many ethnic Russians in the Ukraine have taken offense to this plan.