Change the name? Vigilant citizens found the village “Russkaya Sloboda” in Latvia

Having arrived at the indicated point near Rezekne, Bez Tabu journalists saw the name not only in the navigation application, but also a stop sign with the inscription “Krievu Sloboda”.

Having met Ruta, who lives on the border of the village, it became clear that only one village is currently inhabited in Krievu Sloboda. Arriving at the house indicated by Ruta, the journalists met another lady who, seeing the camera and microphone, simply went into the house.

Looking at the map, you can see that next to the “Russkaya Sloboda” there is also Latvskaya. Although along the way they managed to meet more dogs than people, the journalists finally managed to find more open-minded residents who do not know the exact information about the origin of the name of the village, but do not want to change the name.

In turn, in the self-government of the Rezekne region the question is whether the local authorities in the case of Krieva Sloboda will also follow plans to prevent the consequences of the occupation, as is happening in Riga.

“The name of this village – Krievu Sloboda – has historical origins and has been preserved since the 17th century. Residents of the Ozolmuiža parish have not previously applied to either the local government or the administration of the Dritsa Society with a request to change the name. There are 23 villages in the territory of the parish, including the village of Latviesu Sloboda,” said Julia Djurane, public relations specialist for the Rezekne region municipality.

Folklorist and linguist interested in the Latgalian language, Beatrice Reidzane, explains the appearance of Sloboda, emphasizing that such settlements exist not only in Ozolmuiža parish.

And the name of the village, as they say, was formed historically, when in the 17th century the Old Believers, who fled from Russian tsarism, founded settlements or free villages in Latgale.

As an option for changing the name, the historian recommends, for example, replacing the word Krievu with Vetstitsibnieku (Old Believer – lat.).