St. Petersburg is preparing to amend its regulations concerning the naming of streets and squares, now permitting the use of abbreviations in certain instances. This marks a shift from the previous prohibition on abbreviations in official names.

The draft decree, made public on June 11th, modifies the existing decree governing the procedure for naming elements of the city’s street and road network, planning structure, and public green spaces. The key change involves an exception to the rule against abbreviations, specifically for names commemorating events or individuals connected to the special military operation in certain territories.

Previously, the rules strictly forbade the inclusion of dates, anniversaries, and abbreviations in the naming of objects within St. Petersburg. The updated regulations now allow for abbreviations when honoring those involved in the special military operation in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, Zaporozhye Oblast, Kherson Oblast, and Ukraine.

This suggests that common abbreviations such as DPR, LPR, and SVO may now be officially incorporated into the names of streets, squares, and other objects in the city. Several locations in St. Petersburg have already been named to honor those who died during the special military operation. For instance, Secondary School No. 404 in Kolpino was named after M. D. Smirnov, a recipient of the Order of Courage, and Lyceum No. 369 was named after Alexander Zhikharev, a Hero of the Russian Federation.