List of renamed cities and towns in Russia

Reasons for geographical renaming in Russia were

a particularly large number of cities and towns were renamed in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917

more renamings happened during the whole history of the Soviet Union due to political reasons

in 1945, German cities around Königsberg were made part of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave, see list of cities and towns in East Prussia

soon after the reconquest of Southern Sakhalin in 1945, Japanese placenames were replaced with Russian ones.

Circa 1972-73, many Chinese or Chinese-sounding place names in the Russian Far East were replaced with Russian-sounding ones

in 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, renamings (often for restoration of original names) happened

In the list below sometimes the year of renaming appears in brackets after the new name.

Abinsky → Abinsk (1963)

Adygeysk (1969) → Teuchezhsk (1976) → Adygeysk (1992)

Aksayskaya → Aksay (1957)

Alexandria (1838) → Dakhovsky (1864) → Dakhovsky Posad (1874) → Sochi (1896)

Alexandrovsk (1896) → Polyarny (1939)

Alexandrovskaya → Alexandrovka → Alexandrovsky (1917) → Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky (1926)

Alexandrovskoye (1860) → Alexandrovka (1926) → Krasnopartizansk (1931) → Kuybyshevka-Vostochnaya (1936) → Belogorsk (1957)

Alexeyevsk (1912) → Svobodny (1917)

Almetyevo → Almetyevsk

Antrea → Kamennogorsk (1948)

Apsheronskaya (1863) → Apsheronsk (1947)

Armyansky Aul (1839) → Armavir (1848)

Arzamas-16 (1946) → Kremlyov (1991) → Sarov (1995)

Astapovo → Lev Tolstoy (rural locality) (1918)

Balanda → Kalininsk (1962)

Bashanta → Gorodovikovsk (1971)

Batalpashinkaya (1804) → Batalpashinsk (1931) → Sulimov (1934) → Yezhovo-Cherkessk (1937) → Cherkessk (1939)

Beloozero (862) → Belozersk (1777)

Belorechenskaya (1863) → Belorechensk (1958)

Beloretsk → Mezhgorye (1995)

Belotsarsk (1914) → Khem-Beldyr (1918) → Kyzyl (1926)

Bikinskaya → Bikin

Biryuch → Budyonny → Krasnogvardeyskoye → Biryuch (2007)

Bobriki → Donskoy

Bobriki → Stalinogorsk (1934) → Novomoskovsk (1961)

Bogdanovo → Spassk → Bednodemyanovsk (1925) → Spassk (2005)

Bolokhovsky → Bolokhovo

Bondyuzhsk → Mendeleyevsk

Borovskaya Sloboda → Bor (1938)

Beryozovskoye (Björkö) → Koivisto → Primorsk (1948)

Chegem Pervy → Chegem

Chembar → Belinsky (1948)

Chertanla → Novyy Uzen' (1835) → Novouzensk

Chesnokovka → Novoaltaysk (1962)

Chelyabinsk-40 (1945) → Chelyabinsk-65 → Ozyorsk (1994)

Chelyabinsk-70 → Snezhinsk (1991)

Chibyu (1929) → Ukhta (1939)

Chinnay → Krasnogorsk

Cranz → Zelenogradsk (1945)

Darkehmen → Angerapp (1938) → Ozyorsk (1945)

Dmitriyev → Dmitriyev-na-Svape → Dmitriyev

Dmitrovka → Dmitrovsk → Dmitrovsk-Orlovsky → Dmitrovsk (2005)

Dokshukino (1913) → Nartkala (1967)

Dolgoprudny → Dirizhablstroy → Dolgoprudny

Dvigatelstroy → Kaspiysk (1947)

Dzerzhinsky → Sorsk (1966)

Elektroperedacha → Elektrogorsk (1946)

Enso (1887) → Svetogorsk (1948)

Esutoru → Uglegorsk (1946)

Fischhausen → Primorsk (1946)

Friedland → Pravdinsk (1946)

Galkino-Vrasskoye (1884) → Ochiai (1905) → Dolinsk (1946)

Goly Karamysh → Baltser → Krasnoarmeysk (1942)

Gorodetsk → Bezhetsk (1766)

Gorodok → Zakamensk (1959)

Grushyovskaya → Gornoye Grushyovskoye → Alexandrovsk-Grushyovsky → Shakhty (1921)

Gukovsky → Gukovo

Gumbinnen → Gusev

Gundorovka → Donetsk

Gzhatsk → Gagarin

Heiliegenbeil → Mamonovo

Heinrichswalde → Slavsk

Iletskaya Zashchita → Iletsk → Iletskoye → Iletskaya Zashchita → Sol-Iletsk

Iman → Dalnerechensk

Insterburg → Chernyakhovsk

Ivanovo-Voznesensk → Ivanovo

Izhevsky Zavod → Izhevsk → Ustinov → Izhevsk

Izhma → Sosnogorsk

Kainsk → Kuybyshev

Kalata → Kirovgrad

Kaliningrad → Korolyov

Kamen → Kamen-na-Obi

Kamenskaya → Kamensk-Shakhtinsky

Kamensky Zavod → Kamensk-Uralsky

Kamyshin → Dmitriyevsk → Kamyshin

Kasivabora → Severo-Kurilsk

Kaspiysky → Lagan

Khabarovka → Khabarovsk

Kharovsky → Kharovsk

Khibinogorsk → Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast

Khlynov → Vyatka → Kirov

Khonto → Nevelsk

Khotchino → Gatchina → Trotsk (1923) → Krasnogvardeysk (1929) → Gatchina (1944)

Khrushchyovskaya → Uzlovaya

Kiyskoye → Mariinsk

Kodinsky → Kodinsk

Kolchugino → Lenino → Leninsk-Kuznetsky

Komsomolsky → Yugorsk

Korela → Keksgolm → Priozersk

Korsakovsky Post → Otomari → Korsakov

Kozlov → Michurinsk

Königsberg → Kaliningrad

Krasnaya Sloboda → Krasnoslobodsk

Krasnoflotsky → Krasnoarmeysky → Krasnoarmeysk

Krasnoyarsk-26 → Zheleznogorsk

Kremlyov → Sarov

Krestov Brod → Roshal

Kseniyevsky → Asino

Kudelka → Asbest

Kukarka → Sovetsk

Kurgannaya → Kurganinsk

Kushvinsky Zavod → Kushva

Kuznetsk → Novokuznetsk → Stalinsk → Novokuznetsk

Kuznetsovo → Konakovo

Labiau → Polessk

Labinskaya → Labinsk

Lakinsky → Lakinsk

Laptevo → Yasnogorsk

Lazdinay → Lazdenen → Krasnoznamensk

Lermontovsky → Lermontov

Likhvin → Chekalin

Lopasnya → Chyornoye Ozero → Chekhov

Losinaya Sloboda → Losino-Petrovsky

Lyantorsky → Lyantor

Lyutoga → Rudaka → Aniva

Maoka (Mauka) → Kholmsk

Mechetnaya → Nikolayevsk → Pugachyov

Medvezhyya Gora → Medvezhyegorsk

Melekess → Dimitrovgrad

Mikhaylovskoye → Shpakovskoye → Mikhaylovsk

Mikhaylovsky Zavod → Mikhaylovsk

Mikoyan-Shakhar → Klukhori → Karachayevsk

Mukhtuya → Lensk

Muravlenkovsky → Muravlenko

Mysovaya → Mysovsk → Babushkin

Naberezhnye Chelny → Brezhnev → Naberezhnye Chelny

Nadezhdinsk → Kabakovsk → Nadezhdinsk → Serov

Naykhoro → Gornozavodsk

Nazyvayevskaya → Nazyvayevka → Nazyvayevsk

Neuhausen → Guryevsk

Nevdubstroy → Kirovsk

Nevyansky Zavod → Nevyansk

Nezametny → Aldan

Nikolayevsky → Nikolayevsk → Nikolayevsk-na-Amure

Nikolo-Pestrovka → Nikolo-Pestrovsky → Nikolsk

Nikolskoye → Nikolsk → Nikolsk-Ussuriysky → Voroshilov → Ussuriysk

Nikolsky Khutor → Sursk

Nizhnetagilsky Zavod → Nizhny Tagil

Nizhnevartovsky → Nizhnevartovsk

Nizhnevolzhsk → Narimanov

Nizhny Novgorod → Gorky → Nizhny Novgorod

Noda → Chekhov (2004)

Nolinsk → Molotovsk → Nolinsk

Novaya Derevnya → Alexandrovsky → Novonikolayevsky → Novonikolayevsk → Novosibirsk

Novaya Pokrovka → Svoboda (1943) → Liski → Georgiu-Dezh (1965) → Liski (1990)

Novgorod → Veliky Novgorod (1998)

Novo-Mariinsk → Anadyr

Novoalexandrovskaya → Novoalexandrovsk

Novokuybyshevsky → Novokuybyshevsk

Novonikolayevsk → Novosibirsk

Novopavlovskaya → Novopavlovsk

Novotroitsk → Baley

Novovoronezhsky → Novovoronezh

Novy Zay → Zainsk

Novye Petushki → Petushki

Nyakh → Nyagan

Obdorsk → Salekhard

Olensk → Vilyuysk

Olkhovsky → Artyomovsk

Olzheras → Mezhdurechensk

Omutninsky Zavod → Omutninsk

Oraniyenbaum → Lomonosov

Orenburg → Chkalov → Orenburg

Oreshek → Nöteborg → Shlisselburg → Petrokrepost → Shlisselburg

Orlov → Khalturin → Orlov

Osinovka → Osinniki

Ostyako-Vogulsk → Khanty-Mansiysk

Pavlovo → Pavlovsky Posad

Pavlovsk → Slutsk → Pavlovsk

Pechory → Petseri → Pechory

Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky → Ryazan

Perm → Molotov → Perm

Permskoye → Komsomolsk-na-Amure

Pervomaysky → Novodvinsk

Pesochnya → Kirov

Petergof → Petrodvorets → Petergof

Petropavlovsky → Petropavlovsky Port → Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Petropavlovsky → Severouralsk

Petrovskoye → Petrovsk-Port → Makhachkala

Petrovskoye → Svetlograd

Petrovsky Zavod → Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky

Pillau → Baltiysk

Pokrovskaya → Pokrovsk → Engels

Pokrovskoye → Pokrovsk

Porechye → Demidov

Poshekhonye → Poshekhonye-Volodarsk → Poshekhonye

Prishib → Leninsk

Protva → Zhukov

Pryoysish-Elau → Bagrationovsk

Pyora → Gondatti → Vladimiro-Shimanovsky → Shimanovsk

Raduga → Vladimir-30 → Raduzhny

Ragnit → Neman

Ranenburg → Chaplygin

Rastyapino → Dzerzhinsk

Rauschen → Svetlogorsk

Raychikha → Raychikhinsk

Romanov-Borisoglebsk → Tutayev

Romanov-na-Murmane → Murmansk (1917)

Romanovsky → Kropotkin

Saint Petersburg (1703) → Petrograd (1914) → Leningrad (1924) → Saint Petersburg (1991)

Samara → Kuybyshev → Samara

Selyutora → Siritoru → Makarov

Semyonovka → Arsenyev

Serdobol → Sortavala

Sereda → Furmanov

Sergiyev Posad → Sergiyev → Zagorsk → Sergiyev Posad

Sergiyevskoye → Plavsk

Shakhty → Gusinoozyorsk

Sharypovskoye → Sharypovo → Chernenko → Sharypovo

Shcheglovo → Shcheglovsk → Kemerovo

Shikhrany → Kanash

Shkotovo-17 → Tikhookeansky → Fokino

Sieklakhti → Lakhdenpokhya

Simbirsk → Ulyanovsk

Skalisty → Gadzhiyevo

Slavyanskaya → Slavyansk-na-Kubani

Solnechnogorsky → Solnechnogorsk

Sorochinskoye → Sorochinsk

Spassk → Spassk-Tatarsky → Kuybyshev → Bolgar

Spasskoye → Spassk → Spassk-Dalny

Spasskoye → Spassk → Spassk-Ryazansky

Stakhanovo → Zhukovsky

Stallupönen → Nesterov

Stary Rogozhsky Yam → Bogorodsk → Noginsk

Stavropol → Togliatti

Stavropol → Voroshilovsk → Stavropol

Stupinskaya → Elektrovoz → Stupino

Suchansky Rudnik → Suchan → Partizansk

Sudostroy → Molotovsk → Severodvinsk

Sundyr → Mariinsky Posad

Suyetikha → Biryusinsk

Sverdlovsk-45 → Lesnoy

Svobodny → Cherepanovo

Svyatoy Krest → Prikumsk → Budyonnovsk → Prikumsk → Budyonnovsk

Syana → Kurilsk

Sysertsky Zavod → Sysert

Taldom → Leninsk → Taldom

Tapiau → Gvardeysk

Tashino → Pervomaysk

Temir-Khan-Shura → Buynaksk

Terijoki → Zelenogorsk

Tetyukhe → Dalnegorsk

Tikhmenevsky → Sikuka → Poronaysk

Tikhoretskaya → Tikhoretsk

Tilsit → Sovetsk

Tomarioru → Tomari

Tomsk-7 → Seversk

Toro → Shakhtyorsk

Troitsa → Udomlya

Troitsko-Zaozyornoye → Zaozyorny

Troitskosavsk → Kyakhta

Troitskoye → Troitsky → Troitsk

Trongzund → Uuras → Trongzund → Vysotsk

Trotsk → Chapayevsk

Truyevo-Naryshkino → Kuznetsk

Tsaritsyn → Stalingrad → Volgograd

Tsarskoye Selo → Detskoye Selo → Pushkin

Tsaryovokokshaysk → Krasnokokshaysk → Yoshkar-Ola

Tsimlyanskaya → Tsimlyansk

Turyinsky → Krasnoturyinsk

Tver → Kalinin → Tver

Tyndinsky → Tynda

Udinsk → Verhneudinsk → Ulan-Ude

Ulala → Oyrot-Tura → Gorno-Altaysk

Uralmedstroy → Krasnouralsk

Usolye → Usolye-Sibirskoye

Ust-Abakanskoye → Khakassk → Abakan

Ust-Belokalitvenskaya → Belaya Kalitva

Ust-Katavsky Zavod → Ust-Katav

Ust-Medveditskaya → Serafimovich

Ust-Sheksna → Rybansk → Rybnaya Sloboda → Rybnoy → Rybinsk → Shcherbakov → Rybinsk → Andropov → Rybinsk

Ust Zeysky military post → Blagoveshchensk

Vasilyovo → Chkalovsk

Vayenga → Severomorsk

Velikoknyazheskaya → Proletarskaya → Proletarsk

Velyaminovsky → Tuapse

Verkhneudinsky → Verkhneudinsk → Ulan-Ude

Vinodelnoye → Ipatovo

Vladikavkaz → Ordzhonikidze → Dzaudzhikau → Ordzhonikidze → Vladikavkaz

Vladimirovka → Toyokhara → Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Volkhovstroy → Volkhov (1940)

Volodary → Volodarsk

Vorontsovo-Alexandrovskoye → Sovetskoye → Zelenokumsk

Voskresenskoye → Voskresensk → Istra (not to be confused with another Voskresensk)

Voznesenskaya → Vereshchagino

Vyzhaikha → Krasnovishersk

Yakovlevskoye → Privolzhsk

Yama → Yamsky Gorodok → Yama → Yamburg → Kingisepp (1922)

Yauntlatgale → Abrene → Pytalovo

Yegorshino → Artyomovsky

Yekaterinburg → Sverdlovsk → Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinodar → Krasnodar

Yekaterinenstadt (Baronsk) → Marxstadt → Marks

Yuryuzansky Zavod → Yuryuzan

Zaozyorny-13 → Krasnoyarsk-45 → Zelenogorsk (1992)

Zarinskaya → Zarinsk

Zatishye → Elektrostal

Zavolzhye → Zavolzhsk

Zavoyko → Yelizovo

Zernovoy → Zernograd

Zeysky Sklad → Zeya-Pristan → Zeya

Zhdanovsk → Zapolyarny

Zheleznodorozhny → Yemva

Zhirnoye → Zhirnovsky → Zhirnovsk

Zimmerbude → Svetly

Zlatoust-36 → Tryokhgorny

Zmeiny → Never-1 → Rukhlovo → Skovorodino