Where the Streets Have Too Many Names

VOA: In 1990, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Moscow City Council changed the names of many, but not all, city streets that honored communist leaders associated with Soviet atrocities. Today, Russian civic activists are calling for a completion of the renaming process. But, many city residents are comfortable with current names and are not aware of the bloody history they represent.

1905 Street in central Moscow is named after a violent uprising against the czarist regime that year. Activists today are seeking to return the street's pre-Communist name, New Jerusalem St., saying people would associate it with peace and God, rather than guns and bloodshed. But a randoly sampled college student admits he does not know enough history about the 1905 uprising and the earlier name of his street, New Jerusalem. But given what little he knows, he says he likes the name '1905' better.

Historian Vladimir Lavrov suggests that ignorance of history is reflected in the contradictory results of a recent public-opinion survey to name the 50 greatest Russians. Coming on top were Czar Nicholas, who was murdered by the communists, and Josef Stalin - arguably the greatest mass murderer in history.