Gennady Trukhanov. File photoMOSCOW, 19 Jun. Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov criticized the growth of Russophobia in Ukraine and opposed the renaming of Pushkin Street in the city. He stated this in an interview with the New York Times. «Odessa is the multicultural capital of Ukraine. I am worried about the growth of hatred towards everything Russian,» he said. » /> A Council on «De-Russification and De-Communization» will be created in Ukraine plans to rename those streets in Odessa whose names are associated with Russia, in particular, we are talking about Novomoskovsk, Borodino, Kursk, Voronezh, Chapaev and others. He added that Heroes of Mariupol Street and Great Britain Square should appear among the new names. In May 2015, Ukraine adopted a whole package of laws legalizing the process of decommunization in the country. At the same time, the current wave of renaming is not connected with it. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted, the Kyiv authorities for many years pursued a course of aggressive de-Russification and forced assimilation. He emphasized that Russia wants to see Ukraine as friendly, without a ban on the Russian language and Russian culture.
