Admiral Makarov Street in Mykolaiv is being renamed: it evokes associations with the cruiser that shelled Ukraine

Monument to Admiral Makarov, Fleet Boulevard. Photo: «NykVesty"

In Mykolaiv, they decided to rename the street Admiral Makarov due to associations with the Russian cruiser that shelled Ukraine.

Oleksandr Tryhub, the head of the toponymy commission, announced this in an interview on the MART TV channel, NikVesti reports.

According to Oleksandr Tryhub, during the discussions, the commission came to the conclusion that the name of the street can be kept, since the admiral was a native of Mykolaiv and it is not known for sure whether Stepan Makarov supported the anti-Ukrainian policy of the Russian Empire.

«There was a discussion about Admiral Makarov, because we must not forget that he is a native of Mykolaiv. He was not only a military man, but also an inventor-designer. His views about Ukraine and Ukrainians are completely unknown to us. He was just doing his job. Undoubtedly, he is a figure who did not persecute Ukrainians,» said the head of the toponymy commission.

However, one of the members still insisted on renaming the street, arguing that the name Makarov is associated with the cruiser «Admiral Makarov», the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, equipped with Kalibr missiles. With them, he repeatedly struck the territory of Ukraine.

«One of the members of the commission noted that the people of Mykolaiv have a very strong association with Admiral Makarov's cruiser, which shelled Ukraine. Therefore, after thinking about it, it was decided to rename it. Although there were members of the commission who opposed it,» Oleksandr Tryhub commented.

At the same time, Oleksandr Tryhub noted that the Institute of National Remembrance did not provide recommendations regarding the demolition of the monument to Admiral Makarov, installed on Fleet Boulevard in Mykolaiv.

In November 2023, a petition appeared on the website of the President of Ukraine about removing it from the register and granting permission to dismantle the monument to Imperial Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov in Mykolaiv.

Admiral Makarov frigate

Russian frigate «Admiral Makarov». Photo from open sources

Frigate Admiral Makarov — named after Stepan Makarov, vice admiral of the Russian Imperial Navy, is in service with the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. It became the new flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation after the sinking of the Moskva.

Unlike the sunken Soviet-era cruiser Moskva, built in Mykolaiv, the frigate Admiral Makarov was laid down in 2012 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad.

After the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Admiral Makarov frigate fired Kalibr cruise missiles at the territory of Ukraine, in particular Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.

The Russian ship «Admiral Makarov» is commanded by a former Ukrainian officer from Vinnytsia. The State Bureau of Investigation informed him of suspicion of treason. In August 2023, the Odesa court found guilty in absentia of treason against a former captain of the II rank of a military unit from the Republic of Crimea — the traitor was declared wanted.

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On October 29, 2022, powerful explosions rang out in occupied Sevastopol. The flagship of the Russian Federation «Admiral Makarov» could have been damaged during one of the first attacks by Ukrainian surface drones on Sevastopol.

In September 2023, the satellite recorded the condition of the flagship frigate of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Makarov. It was noted that the ship was «not moving» after a collision with Ukrainian surface drones.

Law on decolonization in Mykolaiv

In April 2023, the Mykolaiv City Council adopted a new regulation on renaming toponyms in order to get rid of all Russian names in the city.

Also, the deputy commission on legality approved a new version of the regulation on the activities of the commission on toponymy, which was engaged in street renaming.

In particular, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that there was a commission on toponymy in the city, which was engaged in street renaming, but as of today, its composition needs to be updated.

However, in August it became known that the toponymic commission has not yet started working. Due to the withdrawal of one of the candidates, the deputies of the city council had to update the composition of the commission.

At the session on September 7, deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council approved the new composition of the toponymic commission. Major General Dmytro Marchenko was included in it, but with the note «by agreement».

The very name of Dmytro Marchenko became one of those in honor of which the people of Mykolaiv propose to rename the streets of the city. The offer was submitted by 32 respondents. However, the general himself opposed such an idea.

In October 2023, the toponymic commission published the first proposals for renaming streets as part of the decolonization process.

In particular, the head of the culture department of the Mykolaiv city council, who is also a member of the toponymy commission, Yurii Liubarov, said that Falieievska street, which bears the name of the city's first citizen, does not fall under the renaming law.

In January 2024, the work of the Toponymy Commission was completed in Mykolaiv — about 250 streets are being prepared for renaming. The head of the commission Oleksandr Tryhub told which streets will get new names according to modern Ukrainian spelling and historical context. In particular, among the central streets, Liahin, Pushkinska, Potemkinska and Admiral Makarov streets will receive new names.

In particular, the commission proposed, as part of the decolonization process, to rename 40 streets with the names of those who died in the Russian-Ukrainian war.