Ukraine and the Defenestration of Names

Ukraine is trying so hard to move to the West. There is a lot that needs to be done still to build their civil society and to untangle a habit of corruption, but in so many ways they are doing what they can to make themselves more part of Europe than that of just a vassal of Russia.

That is the hard work, but simple but critical work needs to be done as well. 

As we move through the stone, brass and iron stage of pulling down statues, sandblasting symbols, and ripping off plaques in a de-Sovietization not unlike what German did with Nazi symbols after WWII - though still more de-Sovietization needs to be done - we are now to the town names stage.

This is good. This sends the right message. That, and it torques off the Russians, so extra special bonus.

Keep at it Ukraine ... and keep working on your civil society; that is where the real change will be.

About three hundred Ukrainian cities, towns and villages are officially renamed as part of the country's de-communization drive. This comes after an overwhelming number of MP's in Kyiv supported the initiative.

The main ones include Ukraine's third largest city of Dnipropetrovsk, which is being renamed to Dnipro, Dniprodzerzhynsk which became Kamianske, Artemivsk which has already returned to to its historical name Bakhmut and Illichivsk – a key port in Odesa region now known as Chornomorsk.