In the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a countrywide campaign of toponymic change brought back many historic names — first of all in Moscow and in Leningrad (which in due course was returned to its proper name St. Petersburg). Soon after, however, these spontaneous activities abruptly stopped, and the subject was dropped, ostensibly forever.

Yet, after two decades, the issue of restoring original historic names of streets and squares in the capital, in St. Petersburg and in other big and small places around Russia seems to have returned to the public agenda, this time as a topic widely discussed on the Internet.

The initiator of hot public debate on this subject was the new minister of culture, Vladimir Medinskiy, who is said to have been preoccupied with this delicate issue for years. In a speech during the opening of the international event "Russia in the Holy Land" at the Manege — Moscow's main exhibition hall — in June, he ardently urged the city administration to consider some new steps in this direction.