The new names of our streets: shedding imperial myths in the Prystolychna hromada

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The 2022 street renaming was an important step for our hromada. But behind every changed sign lies something more — a rejection of imposed imperial heroes and the return of our own memory. Here are the most interesting cases: who we removed from our maps, and whose names are there now.

1. General Vatutin: the myth of the “liberator”

For decades Soviet propaganda sculpted Nikolai Vatutin into a brilliant commander. In reality he is remembered for the terrible tactic of throwing bodies at the enemy — among them untrained Ukrainian villagers (known as the “black infantry”, or chornosvytnyky) during the crossing of the Dnipro. In Prolisky the former Vatutin Street is now Buzkova (Lilac) Street. In Velyka Oleksandrivka, Vatutin Street was renamed Zaporizhian Sich Street.

2. Yuri Gagarin: the USSR’s space monopoly

Gagarin was not merely a cosmonaut but the principal ideological instrument of Soviet soft power. Naming streets after him everywhere was meant to mark the territory of the empire and erase any mention of Ukraine’s substantial contribution to spaceflight. In Dudarkiv the former Gagarin Street was logically renamed after Leonid Kadeniuk — the first cosmonaut of independent Ukraine. In Bezuhlivka, Yuri Gagarin Street became Peace Street. In Mala Oleksandrivka, Yuri Gagarin Street was likewise renamed Peace Street.

3. Pushkin and Mayakovsky: the literary landing party

For centuries russian writers served as markers of the “russkiy mir”. Pushkin openly supported imperial policy and the suppression of liberation uprisings, while Mayakovsky, for all his rebellious image, was a mouthpiece of the Bolshevik regime. In Prolisky, Pushkin Street is now Defenders of Ukraine Street. In Dudarkiv, Pushkin Street became Haiova Street. Mayakovsky Street in Prolisky was renamed after Princess Olha. In Velyka Oleksandrivka, Mayakovsky Street was renamed after Pylyp Orlyk — author of the first Ukrainian constitution.

4. Ivan Michurin: the Soviet agricultural cult

The Soviet plant breeder Ivan Michurin was turned by propaganda into an idol for an agrarian country, despite many of his approaches contradicting classical genetics (which the USSR was then destroying). In Dudarkiv, Michurin Street was renamed after the Symyrenkos — a genuinely remarkable Ukrainian family of pomologists and patrons. In Prolisky, Michurin Street became Kozatska (Cossack) Street. In Mala Oleksandrivka, Michurin Street was renamed after Volodymyr the Great.

5. Other figures and new emphases

Academician Makarov Street in Mala Oleksandrivka received a new name — Vasyl Stus Street.
Kurchatov Street (after the creator of the Soviet atomic bomb) in Bezuhlivka was renamed Hetman Skoropadskyi Street.
In Dudarkiv, Komarov Street was renamed Vesniana (Spring) Street.
Chkalov Street in Velyka Oleksandrivka was changed to Sofiivska Street.

In conclusion: these names are not just new signs at crossroads. They mark the Prystolychna hromada reclaiming its true memory — from princes and hetmans to the modern defenders of Ukraine and outstanding Ukrainian scholars.

Appendix: who’s who on our hromada’s new maps

So that the new names are more than words on a signpost, here is a short guide to the notable Ukrainians after whom streets in Prolisky, Dudarkiv, Velyka and Mala Oleksandrivka and Bezuhlivka are now named.

Leonid Kadeniuk (Kadeniuk St., Dudarkiv)

The first and so far only astronaut of independent Ukraine. In 1997 he flew aboard the American shuttle Columbia on a NASA mission, conducting biological experiments. Thanks to him Ukraine’s anthem was heard in space for the first time, and a Ukrainian flag and a copy of Kobzar reached orbit.

Princess Olha (Princess Olha St., Prolisky)

An outstanding ruler of Kyivan Rus (945–962). She carried out the first administrative and tax reform in our state’s history, setting clear rules for collecting tribute. A brilliant diplomat, she strengthened Kyiv’s international standing by concluding peace treaties with Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire.

Pylyp Orlyk (Pylyp Orlyk St., Velyka Oleksandrivka)

Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host in exile and Ivan Mazepa’s closest associate. In 1710 he co-authored the “Agreements and Resolutions on the Rights and Liberties of the Zaporizhian Host” — a document now called the first Ukrainian constitution, and one of the first in Europe. It provided for the separation of powers and the protection of people’s rights.

The Symyrenko family (Symyrenko St., Dudarkiv)

A remarkable dynasty of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, patrons and scholars. Platon Symyrenko financed the publication of Taras Shevchenko’s Kobzar. Levko and Volodymyr Symyrenko became world-renowned pomologists (fruit scientists); it was Levko who bred the legendary “Renet Symyrenka” apple. They did incomparably more for Ukrainian agriculture and culture than any Soviet breeder.

Vasyl Stus (Vasyl Stus St., Mala Oleksandrivka)

One of the greatest Ukrainian poets of the 20th century — a dissident, human-rights defender and a symbol of resilience. For his active pro-Ukrainian stance, his part in the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and his refusal to cooperate with the KGB he was sentenced to many years’ imprisonment. He died in a Soviet special-regime camp.

Pavlo Skoropadskyi (Hetman Skoropadskyi St., Bezuhlivka)

Hetman of the Ukrainian State (1918), a notable military and statesman. In under eight months in power he achieved a colossal breakthrough in state-building: he founded the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (headed by Vernadsky), opened two state universities and hundreds of Ukrainian gymnasiums, created the State Bank and built up the army.

Volodymyr the Great (Volodymyr the Great St., Mala Oleksandrivka)

Grand Prince of Kyiv and baptiser of Rus (988). His reign was the era of the Kyivan state’s greatest expansion and economic flourishing. He began minting the first Ukrainian coins (zlatnyky and sriblianyky), stamped with his princely sign — the Trident, today Ukraine’s State Coat of Arms.

Defenders of Ukraine (Defenders of Ukraine St., Prolisky)

A collective name, and the most important modern one. It is dedicated to all the men and women who, from 2014 to today, defend Ukrainian independence — in arms, or as volunteers and medics.

Tired? Have a lie-down: near Prolisky a driver rolled his lorry into the ditch and took a quiet hour

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Near the village of Prolisky, a road accident ended not in the usual arguments and panic but in a good — or perhaps not so good — sleep. The driver of an enormous lorry lost control, whereupon the vehicle grew tired, left the road and authoritatively lay down on its side in the ditch.

The man at the wheel decided not to be outdone by his iron horse. Instead of running around the truck with a warning triangle or calling a tow, he remembered the importance of a proper sleep schedule. He simply made himself comfortable right there at the scene and fell fast asleep. That is the state of relaxation in which surprised police officers found him. Happily, nothing was hurt beyond the driver’s composure and the lorry’s left side. Police are now establishing what exactly brought on this sudden attack of drowsiness.

Five streets renamed in Prolisky: the village council's decision

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT

The Prystolychna village council adopted decision No. 1775-15-VIII renaming streets and lanes across the hromada. The new names were approved in response to the russian federation’s military aggression against Ukraine, in order to honour the memory of heroes and notable figures and to restore historical names.

Five streets changed their names in Prolisky. Vatutin Street is now Buzkova (Lilac) Street, Matrosov Street became Kyivska Street, Mayakovsky Street is now Princess Olha Street, Michurin Street became Kozatska (Cossack) Street, and Pushkin Street was renamed Defenders of Ukraine Street.

Registration documents for real-estate properties and cartographic materials will be updated for residents and businesses as needed and in accordance with current legislation. Removing the old signs and installing the new ones is funded from the village budget.

Community news — Prolisky