Changes in Topography of the Zhytomyr Region During the Period of Ukraine’s Independence

The aim of the study is to analyze changes in the toponymy of the Zhytomyr region at the end of the 20th – the first quarter of the 21st century. The methodology of scientific research is based on the use of a complex of general scientific, special historical methods and an interdisciplinary approach, tools of regional studies, regional analysis and regional personology. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive analysis of changes in the toponymy of the Zhytomyr region from the late 20th to the first quarter of the 21st century in the article. As a result of the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that decommunization and derussification of toponyms are necessary steps towards restoring the historical memory of the Ukrainian people, which is a component of the state memory policy. In the Zhytomyr region, the process of renaming toponyms (decommunization, and later derussification) began in the early 1990s and continues to this day. Since the independence of Ukraine, this has been facilitated by the developed normative-legal base and the activities of local toponymic commissions, in particular in Zhytomyr. Primarily, toponymic changes occurred within the framework of decommunization processes, which intensified after the adoption of decommunization laws by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2015. Mostly after the full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine in the Zhytomyr region, as in the country as a whole, the derussification of toponyms intensified. Mostly, the new toponymic names of the Zhytomyr region are associated with historical events or the commemoration of famous historical figures, prominent figures of science and culture, public figures who were born or worked in the Zhytomyr region; world-famous Ukrainian scientists and artists.