Almost 3,500 geographical sites renamed in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE. Aug 22 (Interfax) - The Tajik government has approved the renaming of about 3,500 geographical sites, and all of them have Tajik names now, the Asia Plus agency said.

For instance, the largest Pamirs glacier named after Russian scientist Alexei Fedchenko has been renamed Vanjakh.

"Consistent with the annex of the resolution, 165 glaciers have been renamed in Tajikistan, including 83 in the Murghab region, 25 in the Lakhsh region, and 20 in the Vanj region," the agency said.

Glacier OGPU (Joint State Political Directorate of the Soviet Union) has been renamed Glacier of the National Flag of Republic of Tajikistan. The glacier named after a prominent Bolshevik Sergo Ordzhonikidze is now called Spitamen. The Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky glacier has been named after Tajik poet Mirzo Tursunzade, while the Moscow State University glacier is now named after Sadriddin Aini Tajik State Pedagogical University.

The government resolution renamed over 900 rivers, 52 lakes, over 80 ridges, 129 mountain ranges, 415 mountains, 237 mountain passes, and over 1,000 passes, tracts, ruins, springs, dry channels, wells, hills, hollows, ravines, valleys, crevices, ledges and other geographical sites.

Local Development Committee Chairman Sharifjon Jumazoda announced the pending renaming of certain geographical sites at an earlier press conference. According to him, the working group had studied over 12,500 toponyms since November 2021 and concluded that the names of 4,031 geographical sites and 802 localities were at odds with the present-day realities.