Ukrainian MPs have overwhelmingly approved the renaming of Dnipropetrovsk, the country’s third most populated city. During a heated parliamentary session on May 19, 247 lawmakers approved the change to ‘Dnipro’, a largely used but unofficial name.
Andriy Denisenko, a Ukrainian MP from the city who spearheaded the campaign, was quoted by Radio Svoboda as saying:
“Millions of people in Dnipropetrovsk region wait for decommunization. The peoples’ desire for this change is happening as most city residents called it ‘Dnipro’. Our city should not be obliged to be named after the co-organizer of the Holodomor (Grigory) Petrovsky”.
Fierce opposition came from the Russian-leaning ‘Opposition Bloc’ faction, many of who’s members are closely linked to former president Viktor Yanukovych.
The city was founded 240 years ago and was originally envisioned as the Russian Empire's third capital city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
With reporting from UNIAN, Radio Svoboda
