Visaginas to attempt renaming Soviet Street to Revival Alley again

Visaginas municipal council will again attempt to rename Soviet Street, this time proposing the name Revival Alley, BNS reports.

Mayor Erlandas Galaguzas confirmed the move after Lithuania’s Constitutional Court declined to review the municipality’s appeal, leaving a lower court’s ruling in force. “The Constitutional Court did not accept [our complaint] for consideration, so the court’s decision stands, and we will bring it to the council—now we’ll change it to Revival Alley,” Galaguzas told BNS. He added that the necessary votes for approval should be secured this time.

The proposal to rename and reclassify the street will be considered at the council’s May 28 session. Last September, the council had voted against renaming Soviet Street and instead filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court. With that avenue now closed, Galaguzas stated the municipality must comply with the Supreme Administrative Court’s binding ruling.

“The court has determined [that the name must be changed], so we must submit this draft decision to the council, and I believe the council will vote in favour,” the mayor said.

The new name, Revival Alley, was selected based on resident feedback, though Galaguzas downplayed the issue’s significance. “I don’t think it’s very important, just as the Soviet Street name wasn’t important. After all, other municipalities still have their Soviet Streets—they’ve kept them to this day,” he remarked.

The push to remove the name stems from a 2023 directive by Arūnas Bubnys, head of Lithuania’s Genocide and Resistance Research Centre, which identified “Soviet Street” as promoting totalitarian ideology. After the municipality refused to act, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in July 2025 that the name must be changed, citing its clear association with authoritarian regimes. Lithuania’s 2023 law bans public displays of totalitarian and authoritarian symbols, including street names linked to such ideologies.