A New Name for Victory Park in Riga Has Been Proposed. Signatures Are Now Being Collected 0 16

In Latvia, a petition has been launched for the renaming of one of the most famous parks in the capital. An initiative has appeared on the public initiative portal Manabalss.lv proposing to change the name from Victory Park to Sun Park.

The author of the initiative, Jolanta Stricka, believes that after a major renovation, the park has significantly changed and now serves entirely different functions than before. According to her, the area has become a place for families with children, sports enthusiasts, and participants in cultural events. The park hosts concerts, public events, and celebrations of the solstice, so the new name, in the author's opinion, would better reflect its modern image.

It is proposed that the issue be considered by the Riga Commission on the Names of Toponyms and Urban Environment Objects. They will need to assess whether the current name corresponds to the park's present use and whether there are grounds for its change.

What is important to know: the initiative concerns not only the name but also the symbolic significance of the space, which has noticeably changed in recent years after the renovation and dismantling of the Soviet memorial.

The history of the park's name is significantly older than the Soviet period. Victory Park was named back in 1923 in memory of the victory over Bermont's troops during the struggle for Latvia's independence.

However, in the following decades, public perception of this place changed. After the installation of the Soviet memorial in 1985, the park became closely associated with the celebration of May 9 and Soviet historical memory.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, discussions around the memorial intensified. In 2022, the monument was dismantled based on a decision by the Saeima to demolish objects glorifying the Soviet regime.

The area was then landscaped and renovated. The updated park reopened to visitors in November 2023 and is now primarily used as a modern public recreational area.

Now, supporters of the initiative are proposing to take the next step and change the name of the park so that it, in their opinion, corresponds to its current content and role in the urban environment.