SPRINGFIELD – A residential street in west Springfield has had its name corrected, thanks to the efforts of community members who advocated for over two years.
Last Tuesday, City of Springfield workers installed a new street sign for Kyiv (pronounced “kee-eev”) Street in the Uke Village Subdivision. The sign features a blue base and yellow trim, reflecting the colors of the Ukrainian flag – a surprise gesture unveiled by Mayor Sean VanGordon during a recent city council meeting.
The Ukrainian community in our town is more extensive than it may first appear. Aside from the anecdotal common sightings of little yellow and blue flag stickers slapped on the back of bumpers, data from the American Immigration Council and the United States Census Bureau indicate that nearly one in 10 residents of Oregon is an immigrant. In Springfield, approximately 6% of the population consists of immigrants. Additionally, nearly 20,000 Oregonians report having Ukrainian ancestry. Oregon also ranks third in the nation for the percentage of its population that speaks Ukrainian at home.
“We’re much more alike than we are different,” said Kyiv St. resident Michael Rothermel. A few Ukrainian community members organized and petitioned for the original spelling of Kiev (pronounced “kee-yuv”) to be changed to reflect the proper spelling of the Ukrainian capital that the street was named after. They first raised awareness of the issue by circulating a petition to the public.
The name change is rooted in the removal of Russian language city names that were used during Soviet times. The English translation of the Ukrainian language spelling of the country’s capital Київ becomes Kyiv. Kiev is derived from the English translation of the Russian language spelling.
The Russian-based spelling was brought to attention after Russia invaded Ukraine. Although Ukraine declared independence in 1991, because of the Soviet Union’s past dominance and the misconception that Ukraine is simply an adjunct to Russia, the Russian language still remains.
The sentiment among some Ukrainian community members is that having a street name that honors Russian heritage could signal a lack of genuine support for Ukrainian identity and independence.
Andriy Shulyar and his wife, Iryna Volynets, along with a handful of other members of the Ukrainian community, worked to address the issue.
“We will know what the reaction is going to be once we make this case, once we make the petition. So we wrote the petition about two years ago,” he said.
The group engaged in direct action to make this change possible. Kyiv Street neighbor, Rothermel, expressed his support for the efforts of the grassroots organization by writing to the city council.
Noting the slight disruption that comes with an address change, Rothermel wrote, “I believe the importance of supporting an independent Ukraine (even in this small way) far exceeds the difficulty.”
On April 21, the city council held the first reading and public hearing on the ordinance to rename Kiev to the correct Kyiv. Rothermel wasn’t the only one who wanted the council to know that the street name change was necessary.
“Some people who were (of) Ukrainian descent showed up who I (had) never seen (before),” said Shulyar. According to city documents, “Several residents provided public testimony in support of the change, emphasizing the importance of cultural and historical accuracy.” The council met again on May 5, where they approved a second reading and adoption of the street name change, aligning with Ukrainian spelling and community sentiment. The movement expresses the idea that it is about making it right once you understand that it’s wrong. Some believe the change should have been initiated long before, and that it shouldn’t have taken Russia’s invasion for people to hear about Ukraine on this side of the world. It took an immigrant like me to actually make the case that this is the wrong spelling,” said Shulyar.
Although the physical sign was installed within a few months of approval, it will take some time for the addresses to update completely through the post office. Even with the new name, some residents question why Google Maps and other geographic web services still haven’t updated
the name on their sites, mentioning how quickly the “Gulf of Mexico” changed to the “Gulf of America” earlier this year.
To learn more about the Ukrainian community here in Springfield, check out Ukrainian Day on Saturday, July 12, hosted by the Nativity Ukrainian Catholic Church.
