Geographical Names Research Articles

Nomadic Culture’s Place Names Named After the Cult of Domestic Livestock

The given research considers toponyms of the Republic of Kazakhstan related to the names of domestic livestock, their species, and products as nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of domestic livestock. The total sum of 341 toponyms named after the cult of domestic livestock from all 14 regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan were taken as the data of the study. They were assembled from different geographical maps of the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and they were divided into five main groups that were named after the five main species of domestic livestock. They are: 1. Nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of horses; 2. Nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of oxen; 3. Nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of camels; 4. Nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of sheep; 5. Nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of goats. The complex analysis of research data revealed the percentage of each of the five groups mentioned above; it also identified the 15 most common toponyms named after the nomadic cult of domestic livestock and assisted in classifying the mechanisms of naming nomadic culture’s toponyms named after the cult of domestic livestock. As a result, this research proposes a pioneering classification of mechanisms for naming nomadic culture’s place names, which can manifest some peculiarities of nomadic culture. It also revealed that 56 percent of the 341 toponyms, which were used as data for the study, are associated with the cult of horses. Words associated with the cult of horses in Kazakh culture are widely used in toponyms and serve various functions. These include providing information about incidents that occurred at specific locations, as well as describing the features of geographical objects using characteristics associated with horses and their breeds. The second group of place names in nomadic cultures, named after the cult of domestic livestock, is dedicated to the cult of camels. These constitute approximately 16 percent of all nomadic place names related to the cult of domestic livestock. Camels have played a role in the lives of Central Asian nomads similar to that of horses. Similarly, place names in nomadic cultures associated with the cult of camels serve functions akin to those related to the cult of horses. The Kazakh people even name their children using names that contain elements associated with the cult of camels. The third significant group of place names within the nomadic culture, which is attributed to the worship of domestic livestock, pertains to the cult of sheep. This category constitutes ten percent of all place names related to the nomadic culture's veneration of domestic animals, marginally surpassing the last two groups of such toponyms by only one percent. In Central Asia, nomadic peoples primarily raise sheep for their meat and wool. The Kazakh people have numerous traditions linked to the sheep cult. Even the bones of sheep have been and still are used as toys during national Kazakh games such as “asyk oinau.” The etymological aspects and word structure of toponyms of a given group were studied, and the results of the research contain new details about the etymology of some nomadic culture’s place names that were considered as the data of the study. The whole research process was conducted in three main phases: the phase of reviewing literature and collecting geographical names; the phase of studying etymology and word structure of research data and identifying the 15 most frequent nomadic culture’s toponyms; and the phase of identifying and classifying the main mechanisms of naming nomadic culture’s place names named after the cult of domestic livestock. Received: 14 July 2024 / Accepted: 20 October 2024 / Published: 05 November 2024

City-Text as Mapping a Territory: “Polish” Streets in Berlin

Abstract The aim of the article is to analyse, in a diachronic perspective, the street names in today’s Berlin whose bases are geographical names referring to places in contemporary Poland. The analysis reveals a purposeful city-text that supports the nation-building narrative: either by mapping the state’s actual geography at the moment of the name’s bestowal, or by including the territories claimed (literally or metaphorically), beyond the current borders at the time of the naming. However, the degree to which these street names and the intention behind them are decipherable today remains questionable. Once meaningful for their original creators, today they are partly or completely semantically oblique to the general public, as evidenced by their contemporary reception.

Pesty Frigyes Nógrád vármegyei helynévgyűjtésének nyelvjárástörténeti és szociolingvisztikai hasznosításáról

This paper examines the historical dialectological and sociolinguistic use of the Nógrád County place-name compilation collected between 1863 and 1865 at Frigyes Pesty’s initiative. Frigyes Pesty, a pioneer in historical name geography, toponomastics and name etymologies, organised a collection of place names covering all settlements of Hungary. This manuscript of names constitutes a particularly rich database of geographical names of mid-19th-century Hungary. Hungarian National Toponym Registry Programme researchers have started publishing the manuscript based on standardised principles. During the philological work on the press publication of the place names of Nógrád County, a microlinguistic analysis was conducted. The results of this analysis are presented in this paper. On the one hand, the author discusses the connection of the scriptors to the Palóc dialect area and the possibility of reconstructing the former colloquial language use with the help of the registered toponyms. On the other hand, the author explores the bilingualism of the multi-ethnic (mostly Hungarian-Slovakian) villages of Nógrád County, as reflected in the place names.

3D Reconstruction of Geometries for Urban Areas Supported by Computer Vision or Procedural Generations

This work presents a numerical mesh generation method for 3D urban scenes that could be easily converted into any 3D format, different from most implementations which are limited to specific environments in their applicability. The building models have shaped roofs and faces with static colors, combining the buildings with a ground grid. The building generation uses geographic positions and shape names, which can be extracted from OpenStreetMap. Additional steps, like a computer vision method, can be integrated into the generation optionally to improve the quality of the model, although this is highly time-consuming. Its function is to classify unknown roof shapes from satellite images with adequate resolution. The generation can also use custom geographic information. This aspect was tested using information created by procedural processes. The method was validated by results generated for many realistic scenarios with multiple building entities, comparing the results between using computer vision and not. The generated models were attempted to be rendered under Graphics Library Transmission Format and Unity Engine. In future work, a polygon-covering algorithm needs to be completed to process the building footprints more effectively, and a solution is required for the missing height values in OpenStreetMap.

Պատկերամարտական շարժման սկզբնավորումն ու վարդապետական արձագանքը․ Վրթանես Քերթող և Հովհան Մայրագոմեցի

The iconoclastic movement in Armenia is an interesting phenomenon, which precedes the Byzantine controversies in the 8th century. Two important testimonies have been preserved in the Armenian ecclesiastical literature about the iconoclastic groups and movements in Armenia and Aghvank’ in the 6th–7th centuries: Vrt῾anes K῾ert῾oł’s treatise “Against the Iconoclasts” and the letter written by Hovhan Mayragomec῾i to Bishop David, which is included in the “History of Aghvank” by Movses Dasxowranc῾i, 10th century historian. These two complementary documents outline the origins of the iconoclastic movements in Armenia and Aghvank’, the reasons for its emergence, the geographical span and name of the movement’s authors showing the religious and theological attitude of the Armenian Church regarding the issue. The treatise of Vrt῾anes is the earliest datable defense of images in any language. The author proves necessity and importance of the icons in the churches on the basis of biblical and patristic sources, provides insightful information about the iconography and frescos of the Armenian churches in general. He cites St. John Chrysostom, Bishop Severian of Gabala, Eusebius of Caesarea and St. Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint of the Armenian nation. Vrt῾anes is the first author to use the story of Abgar’s icon of Christ in Edessa in defense of icon use. Analyzing and studying the Armenian sources of the first stage of the iconographic movement, we come to the following conclusion: the presence of images in the church doesn’t contradict to the Holy Scriptures and the teaching of Church Fathers. We have to remember that the worship of images in Christianity has nothing to do with the idolatry described in the Old Testament, because icons were also in the Holy of Holies and in the Temple of Solomon.

Античные топонимы Киликийской равнины греко-латинского происхождения

The ancient toponymy of the Cilician Plain (Asia Minor) has a heterogeneous character, a significant part of the geographical names are of substrate origin, which reflects the rich ethnopolitical history of this region. During the Hellenistic era many Greek place names were replaced. The second wave of renaming began after the Roman conquest of Cilicia. Geographical names of ancient Greek and Latin origin were selected and analyzed among the toponyms of the Cilician Plains for morphological structure and lexico-semantic features. Much attention is paid to the problems of etymologization of toponyms, the definition of the basic principles of naming geographical objects and the patterns of renaming. The classification of Cilician toponyms according to chronology is proposed, which identifies the word-formation models of toponyms peculiar to each epoch: appellatives, substantive adjectives, derivatives of personal names, two-part toponyms (compounds and juxtaposed compounds).

Идеология, топонимия, политика памяти: история переименований в странах Балтии

The article presents an analysis of the toponymy of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in historical retrospect and the relationship with local memory politics. The practice of changing geographical names was carried out and continues to be carried out in line with the Baltic historical policy and such fundamental components as ethnocentrism, the fight against the consequences of “Soviet occupation” and decommunization. At the same time, toponymy was transformed most uniformly and consistently in Estonia and Latvia, due to similar historical development. The dynamics of changes in Lithuanian geographical objects are more specific due to the experience of their own statehood in the person of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as well as changes in borders in 1939.

Russia’s Image in False Mirror of Russophobia

The article analyses russophobia as a tool for creating a distorted image of Russia. The publications in the Russian media serve as the material for the study. These publications, on the one hand, represent the falsified perception of our country by the collective West, and on the other hand, are part of the official mass media discourse in the promotion of universal and state values. The research is carried out in compliance with the imagological paradigm. Modelling is the main method of the analysis. Modelling provides the opportunity to investigate and describe the phenomena of reality taking into account the existential, cognitive, discursive, and axiological characteristics of object under analysis. Russophobia in the present research is considered as a discursive practice with its own existential, axiological, linguistic characteristics, and content, which are determined by the peculiarities of the modern geopolitical situation. As a result of the analysis of empirical material, the following characteristics of the analyzed phenomenon are revealed: russophobia is, first of all, the activity of the Ukrainian authorities; russophobia is equated with xenophobia, nationalism and nazism; russophobia is a political technology of the fight against Russia. From a linguistic point of view, russophobia possesses the following characteristics: militant, rabid, manic, cave-like, attributed to a specific geographical name. The paper presents an analysis of the metaphorical content of russophobia in the official mass media discourse. The Research prospects are outlined.

Influence of Extralinguistic Factors on the Formation of Oikonymy in Kaliningrad Region

This article studies the impact of such factors as the size and the location of a settlement and the time of its renaming as well on the choice of new oikonyms made by the Soviet authorities when the settlements of the Kaliningrad region were renamed after the inclusion of the eastern Prussian territories into the USSR. 2497 acts of renaming were selected and studied. The author examines the connection of each factor with the preferred methods of coordination of the original and new geographical names, with the share of natural-geographical and memorial oikonyms in the corresponding samples, and for the «time» factor the share of migrant toponyms and ideological names is also considered. As a result of the «time» factor study it was revealed that the sequence of the most common methods of coordination fully coincide at different stages of renaming while the share of ideological names decreases over the time. In addition, it was discovered that the share of coordination tends to increase in the groups selected according to the «size» factor together with the increase of the population of the settlements. Finally, while «place» factor was considered it turned out that onomastically uncoordinated areas are located in the southeast of the region, while onomastically coordinated ones form a line stretching from the north to the south of the region slightly shifting to the west. The obtained results prove the fact that extra linguistic factors influence the process and the results of massive renaming in the field of oikonymy.

What’s geographical names got to do with Climate Action?

What’s geographical names got to do with Climate Action?

Reflections of Chinese character culture in nomenclature: A quantitative linguistic and geolinguistic examination of five-star hotel names in China

This study investigates the names of 801 five-star hotels across the Chinese mainland, quantitatively analyzing syllable length, geographical names (city and province names), and common terms within six regions and thirty-one provinces. The research aims to elucidate the lexical characteristics evident in the names of these luxury hotels from a geolinguistic perspective, thus offering insights into China’s linguistic culture. The analysis revealed that the prevalence of five-star hotels correlates significantly with economic size and geographical location. Notable regional differences were observed in the usage of syllable counts and geographical names, with marked distinctions between the north and south, and more subtle variations between the east and west. The employment of city names was particularly prominent. The term jiudian 酒店 emerged as the most frequently used common term, especially in the Central South and Northwest, while fandian 飯店 was more commonly used in the Southwest, North China, and Northeast. Additionally, a diverse array of common terms characterized the nomenclature in the East China region.

TRANSLATION PROBLEMS OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES AND COMPONENTS OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS

This article examines the problems of representation of geographical names and components of phraseological units in English, Russian and Uzbek languages, as well as their theoretical and practical significance. The penetration of geographical names and phraseological units from English literature into Uzbek literature is explained.

Деколонізація топонімів міста Вінниця: лексико-семантичний аналіз

A toponym is defined as a common name for any toponymic objects, starting from large geographical names and administrative districts and ending with small internal urban objects (names of streets, squares, settlements, regions, countries, etc.). The main purpose and function of toponyms is to highlight, individualize, and identify named objects among others. Ukrainian onomastics has consistently pointed to the necessity of a systematic study of toponymy, including microtoponymy. The attention of researchers to the microtoponymy of certain regions of Ukraine has increased significantly, and this is represented in the studies of M. Khudash, K. Tsiluiko, E. Cherepanova, D. Buchko, L. Humetska, K. Halas, I. Zheliezniak, S. Verbych, Y. Karpenko, Z. Kupchynska, V. Loboda, J. Pura, M. Torchynskyi, N. Torchynska, Y. Stepanov, and many others. Equally important is the study of urban names, including regional ones. Urban name is the name of an inner-city object that represents the semantic character of the city, records the history of urban structures, their social, ethnic and cultural function. Both Ukrainian and foreign scholars have conducted research in the field of urban names. Among them: D. Buchko, O. Belei, N. Lisniak, N. Liasovets, R. Liashenko, O. Halai, I. Sabodash, Y. Fernos, L. Masenko, P. Chuchka, T. Shmelva, V. Kamianets, M. Blicha, E. Jedrzefko, and others. The purpose of this article is to analyze the lexical and semantic aspects of the hodonyms of Vinnytsia, which appeared as a result of the decolonization of toponyms in 2023. The main research methods are: descriptive, comparative-historical, structural-semantic, and component analysis. Results. The new names immortalize the memory of outstanding figures of culture and art, significant historical episodes, heroes of the all-time liberation struggles, and heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war. All the analyzed onyms are divided into two groups: derivatives of other proper names, including anthroponyms, microtoponyms, microhydronyms, and onyms of appellative origin. The group of hodonyms derived from anthroponyms includes about 150 names. Among them are the following: 1) hodonyms-names of the heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war; 2) hodonyms-names of cultural and arts figures, including Ukrainian writers, publicists, journalists, literary scholars, critics, folklorists, composers, singers, actors, artists, architects, and film directors; 3) hodonyms-names of Ukrainian public figures, princes, philanthropists, human rights activists, politicians, military leaders, scientists, educators, and rebels. The group of hodonyms derived from toponyms is presented as follows: 1) derived from oikonyms, including astionym; 2) derived from chorononyms, including sovereignonyms; 3) derived from microtoponyms, microhydronyms. The group of hodonyms derived from appellatives is represented by a small number of names for natural features of the area, the location of an object, etc. Novelty consists in the fact that it is the first lexical and semantic analysis of the hodonyms of Vinnytsia as part of the decolonization of toponyms in 2023. Conclusions. Like other cities in Ukraine, Vinnytsia faced a wave of decolonization of toponyms with Russian and Soviet echoes in 2022-2023. As a result, streets, alleys, and squares were given their historical names. There are personal tributes to the fallen heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The urbanonymicon of Vinnytsia is structured by onymic and appellative derivatives, among which anthroponymic and toponymic homonyms predominate. They reflect the worldview of the city's inhabitants, have important cultural significance, and perform a social, ethnic, and cultural function.

Legal Protection Against the Use of Brand Names for Geographical Indications on Trusmi Cirebon Batik

The importance of conducting this research is because there is an allegation of violation of the law against the object of Geographical Indication registered as a brand name by an entrepreneur using the name "Batik Trusmi" because it contains things related to geographical indications such as the place of origin of goods, production area, type of goods and character owned by a place. The purpose and purpose of this study is to research an alleged violation in the naming of a registered trademark because it uses a name that is identical to a geographical indication with logical legal reasons and grounds based on a legal perspective, analyzing the certainty of legal protection for the name "Batik trusmi" which is used as a trademark through legal discovery based on the perspective of existing legal regulations, and provides important information to see the facts through the legal science possessed by the author. The method used in this study is normative juridical to examine the problem of trademark infringement with normative research, and the material collection technique used is a literature study including laws, scientific articles, doctrines, etc. The study's results elaborated on the problem that, based on the legal sources collected, the naming of trusmi batik as a registered trademark is contrary to a general naming and a geographical indication naming. It was found that the trusmi batik artisan community has sought a form of protest against the naming of trusmi batik through trademarks in familial ways but has not met maximum results.

ИСТОРИЯ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ТОПОСИСТЕМЫ САРЫАРКИ

The article describes the development of toponymic systems in the territory of Saryarka. The materials and methods of toponymic research are considered. The formation of geographical names in Saryarka is connected with historical events. The article presents the achievements of researchers who studied the Saryarka region, where old toponymic and modern names are considered in detail. The article describes in detail the origin of toponyms in the context of outstanding historical events, such as the reign of Genghis Khan, the Era of the Golden Horde, the period of tsarist Russia. The toponymic systems of Saryarka are analyzed, which requires in-depth study in the future. Toponyms based on the names of plants and animals, names of people, tribes and genera are common on the territory of Saryarka. In the course of the research, a map of the genonyms and ethnonyms of Saryarka was compiled on the basis of actual data.

19세기 한글본 서울지도 ｢경조오부도｣와 ｢한성부지도｣의 지명 특성 및 유형 분석

This study analyzes the geographical names, rivers, and roads depicted in the 19th-century Korean maps of Seoul, 'GyeongjoObuDo(京兆五部圖)' and 'HanseongbuJido(漢城府地圖)' to understand the appearance of Seoul at that time, with a particular focus on the characteristics and types of geographical names. 'GyeongjoObuDo' was created in 1884 by George Foulk, an American diplomat, based on the 'GyeongjoObuDo' from ‘Daedongyeojido(大東輿地圖)’ . This map, used by a foreigner, contains a mixture of Korean and English names, with a total of 184 geographical names, and features color-coded representations for mountains, rivers, and roads. 'HanseongbuJido' , created in 1900 by the Yangji Office(量地衙門), includes numerous geographical names written in both Chinese characters and Korean, totaling 420 names. This map predominantly features facilities and uses unique Korean names, showcasing the originality and historical significance of the geographical names of that era. Both maps detail the major geographical names, transportation routes, and defense facilities of Seoul, reflecting the linguistic characteristics and regional features of the time. Through this study, it has been confirmed that these Korean maps are important historical sources that reflect the political, economic, and cultural context of 19th-century Seoul beyond mere geographical information. Therefore, there is a need for systematic research and analysis of these Korean maps to provide fundamental data for a deeper understanding of the social and cultural background of the time. Such research requires interpretation of the social, cultural, and worldview changes embedded in the content and representation of the maps.

Өзбекстандағы тау мұздықтары атауларының қалыптасуының табиғи географиялық негіздері және гляционимдер транскрипциясы мәселелері (Пскем алабының гляционимдери мысалы)

This article focuses on the subject of mountain glaciers in Uzbekistan, including their geographical position, the origin of glacionyms (geographical names of glaciers), their interpretations, and their interrelation with physiographic factors and natural conditions. The analysis is based on the Piskom basin and adjacent areas. In the toponymy of the Piskom basin, physical geographical terms such as “tor”, “say (suv, bulak)”, “ashuv”, “tash”, “bel” and their areas have been determined, and the share of these terms in the formation of toponyms has been determined. Based on the fact that more than 65% of the toponyms of the basin were formed at the expense of the above physical geographical terms, the physical geographical basis of the toponymy of the area has been scientifically proven. Various sources have provided suggestions and recommendations on the writing of Piskom basin glacionyms and their correct use in practice.

THE ROLE OF CAVE NAMES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN KAZAKHSTAN

Geographical names, including speleonyms, which were once not registered in official sources, have been preserved in the form of missing words or errors in the Russian language. Therefore, the task of their collection and systematization is fixed by many resolutions of the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other authorized bodies. One of the issues of determining the ways of implementing the project "sacred geography of Kazakhstan" and the direction of research work is aimed at restoring the names of caves. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the formation of cave names on the territory of Kazakhstan and the geographical prerequisites for their restoration. Research objectives: to determine the role of physical and geographical conditions of Kazakhstan in the formation of speleonyms; to reflect the patterns and areas of cave distribution in Kazakhstan and to analyze the geographical aspects of the formation of speleonyms; analysis of geographical aspects of the formation of speleonyms; determination of the place of speleonyms as tourist and recreational objects; making proposals for the preservation of caves and Speleonyms of Kazakhstan. The object of the study is caves and other underground parts distributed on the territory of Kazakhstan as special objects of the sacred regions of the country, the subject of the study is the conditions and meaning of the formation of the names of these caves, their geographical prerequisites and opportunities for restoration. The caves will be of great interest from a geomorphological, hydrological, bio-speleological, archaeological and paleozoological point of view. In recent years, they are studied as unique natural landscapes. The importance of caves for speleotourism is also difficult to overestimate.

CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO TEACHING THE ELECTIVE DISCIPLINE “THEORY OF MASS COM- MUNICATION” TO BACHELORS OF PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITIES (SPECIALITIES “GEOGRAPHY” AND “MUSICAL ART”)

The article covers the main principles of the contextual approach in studying the elective course “Theory of Mass Communication” in pedagogical universities. The aim of the article is to substantiate the effectiveness of applying the contextual approach to teaching the elective course “Theory of Mass Communication” to undergraduate students in pedagogical universities (specialties “Geography” and “Music Art”); to develop situational tasks aimed at fostering media literacy, the ability to codify, and the creation of informational sectoral blocks for dissemination in educational and media spaces. In the research, methods of content analysis, specification, problem-posing, as well as task-based and contextual approaches were used. It has been found that the study of university-wide elective courses appeals to interdisciplinarity in thematic correlation. On the one hand, it involves developing a system of situational tasks that contribute to improving the professional training of students in the specialties “Geography” and “Music Art”. It has been substantiated that the contextual approach is oriented towards teaching material based on methodological foundations, theoretical sectoral knowledge, and forms of activity. The context in the study of academic disciplines involves transforming didactic material, where the objective meanings and significance of sectoral knowledge are transformed into the personal experience of the future teacher. The integral platform allows for the design of situational tasks, the resolution of which combines educational and educational-professional experience. Situational tasks, based on the contextual approach to teaching the course “Theory of Mass Communication”, are built considering the professional training of students in higher pedagogical institutions in the specified specialties (“Geography” and “Music Art”). The didactically processed field of mass communication as a university-wide discipline encompasses thematic blocks such as “Basics of Mass Communication”, “Artistic and Aesthetic Parameters of Mass Com- munication”, “Sociological and Psychological Dimensions of Mass Communication”, and “Mass Communi- cation in the Conditions of Digital Society”. A diachronic consideration of the development of mass communications allows for identifying the cul- tural and historical factors that shape the transmission paths of channels aimed at the recipients of certain knowledge. Addressing the diachronic consideration of mass media information significantly expands the un- derstanding of its essence and the processes of information transmission within mass communication models. It has been outlined that the social and psychological aspects of mass communication determine the language behaviour of professional communicators. This specific feature was taken as the basis in develop- ing situational tasks for communicators – future geographers and musicians. The prepared tasks were cor- related with the normative disciplines studied at the stage of professional training. It has been concluded that studying the elective course “Theory of Mass Communication” based on the contextual approach contributes to the development of professional competencies of teachers who transmit sec- toral information in the conditions of the informational educational environment. It has been proved that the study of semiotics of mass communication should be considered at the level of modelling cultural codes (since geographical names, musical and artistic works contain cultural and historical information, which is actualized in educational discourse at the stage of transmitting sectoral knowledge). Situational tasks, aimed at transmitting sectoral information at the level of a professional communicator (manifestation of language culture), should ap- peal to conducting press conferences as a type of communication, building one’s professional image. The expe- rience of students working with advertising material considering the professional training direction is positive.

DERUSSIFICATION AND DECOMMUNISATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES WITHIN THE KHMELNYTSKYI REGION

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.