NEWSWATCH: “Row over Ukrainian city’s new name” – BBC
The BBC covers debates in Ukraine over the jettisoning of names recalling Soviet rule, including the effort to rename Kirovohrad as Inhulsk.
Since pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in 2014, Ukraine has been removing all public vestiges of Soviet rule, from statues of Lenin to street names honouring other Communist luminaries. A parliamentary committee recently decided that Kirovohrad, which was named in honour of leading Bolshevik Sergei Kirov in the 1930s, is to be called Inhulsk after the local river. … some local campaigners … have been lobbying the city council not to adopt the new name … Inhulsk was one of seven options that received some support in a local referendum last year…. But the most popular choice among the public – backed by 76% … was the pre-Soviet name Yelisavetgrad. …