Pakruojis plans to rename streets linked to Soviet-era figures

The local council in Pakruojis, Lithuania, is set to rename two streets currently named after controversial Soviet-era writers Liudas Gira and Petras Cvirka, state news agency BNS reports.

Liudo Giros Street, a 400-metre road running along the Kruoja Reservoir, may be renamed either Versmės Street—as proposed by residents—or Juozo Pakalnio Street, following a recommendation from the municipality’s Memory and Historical Dates Commemoration Commission. The street includes a school dormitory, an apartment building, the Juozo Pakalnio House-Museum, and several private homes.

Petro Cvirkos Street, which spans administrative borders between Pakruojis town and Jovaras village, is slated to become Kaimynų (Neighbours) Street, a change also recently adopted in Marijampolė Municipality. According to Pakruojis chief architect Artūras Šukys, only local residents participated in selecting the new name.

The council will vote on the proposals in late March. Šukys noted that no further street renames are currently planned in the district, following a recent merger of V. Montvilos and P. Stripeikos streets into a single Vingio Street.

The moves follow Lithuania’s 2023 ban on public displays of totalitarian and authoritarian symbols, including street names linked to figures who promoted such regimes. The state’s Desovietization Commission has classified both Gira and Cvirka as active collaborators with the Soviet occupation, citing their roles in legitimising Lithuania’s forced incorporation into the USSR.