Olevsk frees itself from the Soviet legacy

Seven streets in the Zhytomyr region town are no more named after dignitaries of the late totalitarian regime. Olevsk municipal council, representing one of the most remote areas of Zhytomyr region, decided by majority vote to rename streets named after dignitaries of the communist regime on December 20. Secretary of the council Tamara Zaruba told The Day that the issue of changing the names of some of the streets was deliberated on by the previous, fifth council of the town. It emerged then because two streets were still named after Postyshev and Kosior, major organizers of the great Ukrainian famine of 1932-33, but no decision had been taken then, despite the demands of more enlightened among citizens of Olevsk. Issue arose again with the current council, over 200 signatures were collected urging the council to pass the measure, and a public hearing has been conducted. Still, only the third campaign for renaming ended in successful vote by the council. The issue was furthered greatly by All-Ukrainian Union “Freedom” councilors, all four of them, but more importantly, it got consolidated support from the majority in the body.

Renowned local historian and journalist Yurii Khalimonchuk commented on the situation for The Day. He said that some streets in Olevsk lost their Soviet-era names as early as in the early 2000s, when, in particular, Lenin Street was renamed St. Volodymyr Street, and 50 Years of October Revolution became St. Nicholas Street. The main square was renamed Cathedral Square, as there are now several churches there. Following the latest decision by the council, Postyshev Street has been renamed Olena Teliha Street, Kosior Street has become Oleh Olzhych Street, Kirov Street is now named after Ivan Vyhovsky, former Petrovsky Street honors now famous Zhytomyr author Oleksii Opanasiuk who wrote about WWII-era “Olevsk republic,” founded by Taras Bulba-Borovets, Kuibyshev Street has become 20th Anniversary of Ukrainian Independence Street, Kalinin Street has been renamed to honor battle of Kruty heroes, while erstwhile Kotovsky Street is now named after Yurko Tiutiunnyk. According to the historian, some Soviet street names in Olevsk were justified by some of the era dignitaries’ long stays and work there, and this is particularly true regarding Postyshev. However, we should never forget the horrors of the great famine that were associated with Kosior’s name, because Olevsk district peasants starved, too, and many local people suffered from Communist persecutions, many of them disappeared without any semblance of trial or investigation. As this district was in the Soviet borderlands before World War II and housed the 5th Fortified Area of the Red Army, the government expelled people of Polish, Jewish, and German ethnicity who lived there and resettled them in Kazakhstan, eastern regions of the USSR or in other districts of Zhytomyr region.

The Soviet-era street names proved so deep-rooted that it was difficult to extinguish them. Since that time, we have become accustomed to Tiutiunnyk’s Ukrainian People’s Republic Army being called just “bandit gangs” in the historical literature. We understand differently the role of Petliura and other leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement now. Troops of Kotovsky’s command, for example, committed massacre of Tiutiunnyk’s Ukrainian soldiers in the village of Bazar and nearby. The role of the founder of “Olevsk republic” Bulba-Borovets is being reconsidered now, too. It occurred to some Olevsk citizens to name some streets to honor him and the WWII-era state-like entity, but the idea has not been implemented yet.

Ihor YUKHNOVSKY, former head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, politician and historian:

“Constant contemplation of Lenin monuments or plaques reading ‘Lenin Street’ or honoring some other former Soviet official is very harmful to the human psyche. Any monuments and sites associated with the dignitaries of the communist regime should be eliminated. Streets should be given instead such names that are liked by the majority of the population of the area in question. I’m not saying that these should be the names of, say, Ukrainian independence fighters, which are popular in western Ukraine. People themselves should decide on the name and the respective council should approve the choice. Streets may be named not only after some political figures or ideas, but also to highlight the area’s nature or history, or they may be given completely neutral names, such as Long Street, Wide Street or Sunny Street. People resist renaming streets today out of sheer inertia, as they have become accustomed to some current name and do not want to change it.”