Latvia wants to resume renaming streets and towns with Soviet names.

Latvian Culture Minister Nauris Puntulis called on the Saeima to resume consideration of the bill on renaming streets and settlements whose names were introduced during the Soviet occupation.

This was reported by the Minister’s Advisor Agnese Varpiņa.

She recalled that back in June 2023, then-Latvian President Egils Levits called on parliament to pass a law requiring the change of place names associated with the policies of the communist totalitarian regime and Russification.

Puntulis has already submitted a corresponding proposal to the parliamentary committee on education, culture, and science. The bill calls for renaming streets and settlements whose names were given during the Soviet occupation, bringing them into line with Latvian culture and national identity.

According to the minister, names such as Pioneer Street, Maskavas Street, Oktyabrya Street, Andreja Upiša Street, and Paula Leiņša Street are still preserved in Latvia. Among the populated areas, he mentioned Kholodnie Ruči and Tikhuja Pristan.

Puntulis believes that the rejection of toponyms that glorify the communist totalitarian regime or individuals associated with it will help strengthen Latvian identity and the state’s democratic institutions.

In July, the minister met with representatives of the public organization “Center for Public Memory.” The organization updated the draft law and prepared a new list of Soviet place names to be renamed.

The relevant documents have already been submitted to the relevant committee of the Seimas for consideration.

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