Ukraine to rename towns to get rid of Soviet past

A total of 25 Ukrainian towns may regain historic names following the parliament's ban on the use of Communist symbols, local media reported on Monday.

"In 2009 [Ukrainian] lawmakers proposed doing this and even prepared a list of towns that had to be renamed," the Novoye Vremya (New Time) newspaper said.

In particular, the Ukrainian government could rename towns named after Soviet and Bolshevik leaders, the newspaper said.

On April 9, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law condemnding and criminalizing Communist and Nazi regimes and banning their propaganda and public use of their symbols.

Under the law, Ukrainian towns having Soviet-era names should get new ones within six months.