A bill to restore the historical names of Crimean settlements has been submitted to the Rada
Bill No. 15439 has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, which provides for a mechanism to rename geographic features in the temporarily occupied Crimea even before its de-occupation. The document also proposes restoring the historical names of settlements that were renamed during the Soviet era following the deportation of Crimean Tatars and other indigenous peoples.
On July 24, People’s Deputy and Crimean Tatar human rights activist Tamila Tasheva announced the introduction of the bill. According to her, current laws on decommunization and decolonization did not take into account the specific circumstances of the temporary occupation of Crimea, which is why place names associated with Russian imperial policy and the Soviet totalitarian regime still remain on the peninsula.
“The temporary occupation should not hinder the restoration of historical names and justice,” Tasheva emphasized.
The bill proposes granting the Cabinet of Ministers the authority to carry out or initiate the renaming of geographical features for as long as local authorities in Crimea are unable to perform these functions due to the Russian occupation. The document also sets out the deadlines for carrying out such renamings.
Certain provisions of the bill concern the restoration of the historical place names of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples. Specifically, this involves restoring historical names to cities and villages that were renamed by the Soviet authorities following the deportation of the Crimean Tatars and other indigenous peoples.
As the authors of the initiative note, decisions on renaming will be made only after consultations with the representative bodies of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples. According to Tasheva, the bill is intended to establish a mechanism for implementing the law on the restoration of the rights of persons deported on the basis of their nationality, which has not yet been fully implemented in practice.
Tashova wrote about this on Facebook.
As a reminder, strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the transportation and fuel-energy infrastructure of occupied Crimea, as well as on supply routes, may be part of the first stage of the peninsula’s de-occupation.
On the night of July 26, explosions were heard in the temporarily occupied Crimea. According to monitoring channels, Simferopol, Feodosia, and Yalta were under attack.
The General Staff confirmed that a Chornomornaftogaz facility in occupied Crimea had been struck.
