DERUSSIFICATION AND DECOMMUNISATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES WITHIN THE KHMELNYTSKYI REGION

Abstract

Statement of the scientific and practical problem. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused significant changes among Ukrainian citizens and raised issues that play an important role in the formation of national identity. Since the 2000s, the Russian criminal authorities and Russian propaganda have been developing the concept of the "Russian world" to keep Ukraine subordinate to the imperial non-state. Therefore, the preservation of the geographical and cultural heritage of the aggressor country is unacceptable in times of war. Relevance and novelty of the study. The processes of decommunisation and derussification in Ukraine today are closely interconnected, as Russians are the bearers of neo-imperialist and colonial tendencies. In the history of our country, resistance to colonialism has had its own peculiarities and stages in each century, so it is quite logical that during the period of full-scale aggression against Ukraine, this process has become nationwide. Ukraine has adopted a number of laws condemning the communist and national socialist regimes and prohibiting the propaganda of their symbols, which covers a wide range of objects: names of settlements, streets, squares, monuments, taverns, facade boards, etc. Their presence in our country undermines the upbringing of modern Ukrainians, who should be educated on national and European values. The dominance of hostile geographical names and culture in any form is completely unjustified, having been forcibly imposed in the past. Imperial policy has deep roots and permeates Ukrainian education and upbringing. Therefore, today we are witnessing a completely natural reaction of Ukrainian society, which seeks to purge itself of the carriers of Russian and communist influence on a larger scale. Relation of the article’s topic to important scientific and practical tasks. The article deals with issues within the framework of the scientific topic: "Decommunisation and Derussification of Geographical Names in Ukraine" of the Department of Geography and Methods of Teaching it at the Ivan Ohienko National University of Kamianets-Podilskyi. For more than 70 years, the Soviet government tried to destroy any historical, cultural, and linguistic diversity in Ukraine. For a long time, the names of geographical objects in Ukraine honored people who had nothing to do with our country. The process of renaming intensified after 2014, when the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions took place. The war launched by the Russian Federation in February 2022 necessitated the need to renounce any ties with the aggressor. Changes in geographical names have covered the expanse of Ukrainian settlements. Derussification is a fairly new process and does not yet have a clear definition. The draft amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Geographical Names" stipulate that derussification is intended to prohibit the assignment of names to geographical objects in Ukraine that glorify, perpetuate, propagandize, or symbolize the Russian Federation. It is interesting to note that after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, several foreign countries, such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, and Canada, renamed streets and squares where the aggressor country’s diplomatic missions are located. These streets are now named "Ukrainian Heroes", "Free Ukraine", or "Heroic Mariupol". This shows that even accidental renaming can have significant symbolism and support for Ukraine. The formation of place names is a complex and ongoing process. It often depends on the socio-political situation and bears the imprints of different historical epochs. Key words: decommunisation, derussification, decolonisation, renaming, geographical name, settlement.