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Come Again, Comrade? Russian and Soviet City Name Changes Through the Ages

If you don't like it, change it.

Astana Wikicommons

Following Kazakhstan's move to change its capital city's name from Astana to Nursultan in honor of newly resigned President Nursultan Nazarbayev, speculation has grown around the eventual manifestation of President Vladimir Putin's legacy — Putingrad, anyone?

Throughout history, cities in Russia and neighboring countries have been renamed and rebranded after political conflicts and changes in leadership.

Here's a look at the cities where lawmakers just can't make up their minds.

Tsaritsyn (1589—1925) → Stalingrad (1925—1961) → Volgograd  (from 1961)

Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Pixabay / Google Maps / MT

St. Petersburg (1703-1914) → Petrograd (1914-1924) → Leningrad (1924-1991) → St. Petersburg (from 1991)

Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Pixabay / Google Maps / MT

Königsberg → Kaliningrad (from 1946)

Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Pixabay / Google Maps / MT

Nizhny Novgorod (1221-1932) → Gorky (1932-1990) - Nizhny Novgorod (from 1990)

Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Pixabay / Google Maps / MT

Dushanbe (1925) → Stalinabad (1929-1961) → Dushanbe (from 1961)

Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Pixabay / Google Maps / MT

Akmolinsk (until 1961) → Tselinograd (1961–1992) → Akmola (1992–1998) → Astana (from 1998) → Nursultan in 2019

Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Pixabay / Google Maps / MT
Read more about: Kazakhstan

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