The Commission for Standardization of Geographical Names Outside the Republic of Poland, operating at the Chief National Surveyor, at its 125th meeting, which took place on April 12, 2023, made a decision regarding the names of the city and administrative unit located in the Russian Federation.
Since the city with the Russian name Калининград (Kaliningrad) is known in Poland under the traditional name of Królewiec and its current Russian name is an artificial baptism unrelated to the city and region, the Commission decided that only the Polish name of Królewiec is recommended and is the use of the name Kaliningrad in Polish.
Similarly, for the administrative unit in which the city is located and which bears the Russian name Калининградская область (Kaliningradskaja oblast´), the Commission recommended using the Polish name Kaliningrad Oblast and advises against using the Polish name Kaliningrad Oblast.
Also read: Interest rates up, Norges Bank announced
In the context of current events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the imposition of the so-called Ruski mir, Russia's information warfare, geographical names may have symbolic functions, and the current Russian name of the city is an element of Russia's symbolic space, also imposed on recipients from outside the country's borders. In addition, the fact that a large city was named after MI Kalinin, a criminal co-responsible for, among others, for the Katyn massacre, evokes negative emotions in Poland.
An important aspect is also that each country has the right to use in its language traditional names constituting its cultural heritage. At the same time, it cannot be forced to use names in its language that are not accepted by the community.
The Commission also raised several other issues regarding changes in the Polish geographical names of the world and adopted a list of names of buildings in Belarus.
It is worth noting that the resolutions from the 125th meeting of the Committee are available here. The decision to change the names enters into force on the day of the announcement, i.e. on May 9, 2023.
Like us on Facebook and share our post with others. Thank you.
Source: gov.pl
Read and learn more: A research rocket landed in Norway
