Moldova’s Patriots and Russian Youth League demand renaming Chisinau streets

The chairman of the Russian Youth League Igor Tuleantsev and the head of Moldova’s Patriots Party Mihail Garbuz in a news conference on Monday announced that they launch a nationwide project called Memory of Generations within which they will seek renaming the streets in Chisinau because they should bear the names of Soviet heroes, according to them, Info-Prim Neo reports. “We start with the street that is now named Cuza-Voda. We want it to bear the initial name – of the Soviet hero Alexei Belski. The people living on this street still call it Alexei Belski, as it was named until 1990, and want it to be renamed,” said Igor Tuleantsev. According to Mihail Garbuz, tents will be put up on Cuza-Voda St from October 3. The people living on this street can go there and put their signatures in favor of renaming it Alexei Belski. “We plan to gather at least 10,000 signatures. Afterward, we will prepare the necessary documents and submit them to the Municipal Council. The local authorities will have to comply if more than a half of the people living on Cuza-Voda St demand renaming it,” he stated. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the head of the Chisinau City Hall’s Public Relations Division Vadim Branzaniuc said there is no normative document stipulating that a street can be named if more than 50% of the signatures of the dwellers are collected. “Only the Chisinau Council can change the name of a street after the specialized commission gives its approval. An initiative to rename certain streets was put forward by the Communist faction in 2005, but they abandoned it even if they held a majority of seats on the Council. Such an act implies costs, but the historical significance of the penalties also counts,” said Vadim Branzaniuc.