The Hague rejects request to rename Russian embassy's street after Navalny

The municipality of The Hague has rejected a request to rename the street near the Russian embassy in honor of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian custody earlier this year. The city referred to various rules around street names that make the request, submitted as a petition with over 85,000 signatures, impossible. The initiators called the rejection thoughtless and without context. They are organizing a protest march against it on Tuesday.

In a letter to petition organizer Lizz Hollmann, which NL Times has, the city wrote that the request to rename the street near the Russian embassy failed to meet two street name requirements. First, street names are only changed if absolutely necessary for findability or security. Second, streets can only be named after a person who has been dead for at least a decade because the life of the person involved needs to be carefully examined.

The city added that the street name change would not only impact the Russian embassy but also all other buildings located on Andries Bickerweg. “Such an administrative relocation has a big impact, including financially and possibly other objections from directly involved parties.”

“We understand the emotion and involvement behind your request and appreciate the effort you made to explain your position,” the city said. “The number of signatures collected shows the subject is alive in society.”

The initiators, united in Team Navalny, reject the city’s arguments for not renaming the street. In an email sent to NL Times, they argue that the city can reduce the impact of an administrative relocation to only three addresses by only renaming part of the street. In the past, other municipalities have provided compensation of 500 euros per address for financial costs. “You cannot describe the impact as major.”

They also argue that the 10-year deceased rule should be waived for Nalvany. “The signal to Russia makes no sense in 10 years,” they wrote. “In the case of Navalny, 10 years are not needed to thoroughly describe the life course. This can be done by the end of 2024 at the latest, and possibly much earlier.”

“In short, no well-considered decision was made, only a quick decision based on rules that were drawn up in the past without the context mentioned in the petition,” Team Navalny said. They are organizing a protest march against the city’s decision on June 4, starting at the Russian embassy in The Hague at 6:00 p.m.