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421:. Contrarily, reformers, intellectuals, Russian nationalists, and opponents of Communism felt that the name Saint Petersburg reflected Russian excellence and favored dropping the name "Leningrad", which they saw as identified by a system the felt had been repressive. The greatest opposition was reportedly from voters over 65 years old, while the greatest support was from voters under the age of 30.
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had spoken out ahead of the referendum against the prospect of renaming the city, declaring that "there are neither moral nor political grounds" to rename the city. The June 1991 elections in Russia were seen as a blow to
Gorbachev, also seeing the election of Yeltsin (whose coalition was critical of
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argued that all
Russians, not just Leningrad residents, should be allowed to vote on the matter of changing the city's name. He also expressed concern that the name "Petersburg" was in violation of linguistic and historical traditions, suggesting Petrograd and Svyato-Petrograd as Russified
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Among the arguments local
Communists, led by Leningrad party leader Boris Gidaspov, used against the name-change was that it would be very costly to change the city's name of signs, stationary and equipment. They also argued that it would dishonor survivors of the Siege of Leningrad.
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The 55% result in support of renaming the city was not predicted by pre-election polling. Political observers had believed it might fail to pass. Pre-election polls had shown the electorate near evenly-split, showing the referendum likely to be defeated by a narrow margin.
286:, but had left the party the previous year. Sobchak was considered a like-minded reformer to Yeltsin, and was politically associated with Yeltsin. His victory, along with the similarly-strong victory (also over 65%) of fellow Yeltsin ally
393:
When the city was founded in 1703, it had been known by the name "Saint
Petersburg", but had been renamed to "Petrograd" in 1914 and again to "Leningrad" in 1924, five days after the death of the inaugural leader of the Soviet Union,
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suggested that
Gorbachev's remarks opposing renaming may have encouraged voters to actually vote in support of renaming the city. Deputy Mayor of Leningrad Vyacheslav Scherbakov also spoke against the potential name change.
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Sobchak and allies had called for more tractors and fewer tanks to be produced at Soviet government-operated defense plants in the
Leningrad area. He also hoped to see municipally-owned enterprises of the city
82:. The elections included the city's first popular mayoral election and a non-binding referendum on whether to change the city's name to its historic name of "Saint Petersburg". The elections coincided with the
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55% of voters supported restoring the city's name to "Saint
Petersburg". The referendum was non-binding, as only the Communist-dominated national parliament had the authority to implement a name-change.
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413:, and many war veterans opposed a name change as both attacking the ideals that had shaped their lives, and as an insult towards the suffering endured in the
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105:. The coinciding presidential election was first-ever popular election of a Russian leader. Also coinciding with the election was a mayoral election in
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In its similar coinciding referendum, the residents of
Sverdlovsk voted in support of renaming their city to its historical name of "Yekaterinburg".
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Sobchak, during his campaign, supported renaming the city to its former name of "Saint
Petersburg". He also called for removing Lenin from
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by anti-Communist groups, the
Leningrad City Council agreed to hold a referendum on changing the city's name to "Saint Petersburg".
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Roughly two-thirds of the city's approximately three million eligible voters participated in the election.
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Debate over the name-change, ahead of the referendum, touched on the very value of Soviet identity.
325:, saying that Lenin should be buried in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg alongside his mother and sister.
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706:"Yeltsin wins Russia's first free elections Leningrad voters back name change to St. Petersburg"
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The election was the first ever popular election of a city administrator in the city's history.
431:, supported the name change. Other supporters of the name-change included then-city councilman
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264:) was elected the city's first popularly-elected mayor, winning 65% of the vote against
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in the coinciding Moscow mayoral election, were a boon to Yeltsin's political mandate.
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Before the election, Sobchak had been the chairperson of the Leningrad City Council.
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648:"YELTSIN IS HANDILY ELECTED LEADER OF RUSSIAN REPUBLIC IN SETBACK FOR COMMUNISTS"
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which would lure foreign manufacturing and service companies to the area through
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through methods included outright sales, long-term leases, and the creation of
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The most significant candidate that Sobchak faced was Yuri Sevenard, the
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The election coincided with the first (and ultimately only) round of the
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744:. The Olympian (Olympia, Washington). The Associated Press. 14 June 1991
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The name of the city was renamed to "Saint Petersburg" later that year.
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called the result, "potent symbol of the popular rejection of the
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on renaming their city to its former name of "Yekaterinburg".
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803:. Tyler Morning Telagraph. The Associated Press. 14 Jun 1991
314:. In May 1991, Boris Yeltsin gave his support to this plan.
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owned by employees. He also supported making the city a
676:"On This Day in 1991 Boris Yeltsin Elected President"
569:"'Leningrad' under siege | Maclean's | June 10, 1991"
772:. Arizona Republic. The New York Times. 14 Jun 1991
476:called the result, "a strong blow to the legacy of
443:Gorbachev's policies) as president. John Rettie of
74:(modern-day Saint Petersburg), located in the then-
40:It has been suggested that this article should be
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763:
735:
614:. Times-Advocate (Escondino). The Associated Press
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849:"Leningrad becomes St Petersburg – archive, 1991"
462:alternatives to the more Germanic "Petersburg".
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117:. Additionally coinciding was a referendum in
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217:Chairman of the City Council before election
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765:"Real Boris Yeltsin finally standing up"
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371:Member of the City Council, director of
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375:industrial construction association
356:Chairman of Leningrad City Council
99:1991 Russian presidential election
84:1991 Russian presidential election
68:1991 Leningrad municipal elections
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646:Schmemann, Serge (14 June 1991).
573:Maclean's | The Complete Archive
282:. He was a former member of the
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31:
607:"Voters: Give The Party a slap"
604:Brumley, Bryan (13 June 1991).
278:Sobchak was considered to be a
133:1991 Leningrad mayoral election
567:Gray, Malcoln (10 June 1991).
1:
847:Rettie, John (14 June 1991).
704:Shane, Scott (14 June 1991).
737:"Reform dominates election"
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46:into multiple articles. (
880:1991 elections in Russia
373:Lengidroenergospetsstroy
18:1991 Leningrad elections
497:Name change referendum
429:Russian Orthodox Church
111:a presidential election
459:Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
457:Renown Russian author
385:Name change referendum
262:independent politician
822:Как выбирали в 1991-м
300:joint-stock companies
513:Support name-change
310:and exemptions from
268:city council member
523:Oppose name-change
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427:, Patriarch of the
415:Battle of Leningrad
398:. After exhaustive
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101:, which was won by
652:The New York Times
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480:". Scott Shane of
419:Siege of Leningrad
304:free economic zone
885:1991 in Leningrad
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490:and its legacy."
483:The Baltimore Sun
440:Mikhail Gorbachev
438:Soviet President
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856:. Retrieved
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78:republic of
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244:Independent
226:Independent
196:Percentage
874:Categories
827:Kommersant
796:"Election"
535:References
502:Candidate
411:communists
407:Bolsheviks
338:Candidate
323:Red Square
296:privatized
181:Candidate
119:Sverdlovsk
93:Background
425:Alexei II
266:Communist
115:Tatarstan
72:Leningrad
400:lobbying
344:Results
232:Elected
55:May 2024
280:liberal
162:
48:discuss
858:10 May
807:10 May
776:10 May
715:10 May
686:10 May
618:10 May
578:10 May
505:Votes
107:Moscow
80:Russia
76:Soviet
748:9 May
657:9 May
478:Lenin
234:Mayor
43:split
860:2022
809:2022
778:2022
750:2022
717:2022
688:2022
659:2022
620:2022
580:2022
528:43%
518:55%
472:The
378:25%
260:(an
202:25%
199:65%
109:and
66:The
360:65%
113:in
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