Tallinn to rename Moskva puiestee this year
Among the objectives included in the Tallinn City Government's coalition agreement, which was published this April, are the renaming of the city's Moskva puiestee (Moscow Boulevard) and the further development of Ukraina väljak (Ukraine Square). Moskva puiestee, which is in the Lasnamäe district, is expected to be renamed in the fall.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonian municipalities have been focusing on removing Soviet-era symbols and other references from city streets.
Last year, the Isamaa group in Tallinn City Council raised the issue of renaming the city's Moskva puiestee, however, the issue remained unresolved. According to Riina Solman, leader of Isamaa's Tallinn region, who took part in the coalition talks in spring, the main reason was the unwillingness of the former city administration to deal with the issue.
"It was more the case that after the appointment of the new city government, the issue was addressed, when it was included in the coalition agreement," Solman said.
According to the municipality's action plan, Moskva puiestee, which is in the Lasnamäe district, should be renamed by this October at the latest. Solman hopes the municipality's naming committee will discuss the issue after the summer break. Madle Lippus (SDE), Tallinn's deputy mayor for urban planning, said that the process of changing the street's name will not be complicated.
"This is a section of street where there are no buildings with an address, so the renaming process is rather simple," Lippus said.
The development of a Ukraine Square (Ukrana väljak) in Lembitu Park was also dealt with to a certain extent under the previous city administration. However, the city is now also looking to undertake a major environmental redevelopment of the square. To this end, an architectural competition will be launched in September with design work set to begin next year.
"The aim is then to design a kind of commemorative environment, or some sort of object, that commemorates the war in Ukraine, the idea and meaning of freedom and its importance for all of us."
Solman said other municipalities could also consider adopting new place names referring to Ukraine.
"Now is the time to clarify and talk about why we need to stand together for Ukraine, including by creating squares like these and also by changing street names," Solman said.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Michael Cole
