Makhachkala residents dispute on initiative to rename Kotrov Street

Polar views were expressed by residents of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, about the initiative to rename Kotrov Street into Khachilaev Brothers Street. Some of them believe that the renaming will lead to another topographical mess, while others declare the merits of Khachilaev brothers. The streets of Makhachkala should not be named in relation to the political conjuncture, said the journalist Svetlana Anokhina.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in Dagestan, an initiative group of citizens sent a letter to the head of the republic with a request to rename Kotrov Street into Khachilaev Brothers Street "in memory of the peacemaking role the brothers had performed."

In her turn, Svetlana Anokhina, the author of the book "There Was Such A City. Makhachkala”, expressed her "categorical disagreement with the initiative. She noted that she was "against any renaming of streets in general."

In her opinion, the authors of the renaming initiatives "should do something useful for the city themselves."

Without the consent of Ramazan Abdulatipov, the street will not be renamed, said Gadjimurad Sagitov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Novoe Delo”. However, he has treated the Khachilaev brothers "as large-scale and significant figures in the history of modern Dagestan."

Mr Sagitov has added that the Khachilaev brothers "are considered in Dagestan to be the leaders of the Lak people."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.