Street names in Bucharest, 1990-1997: exploring the modern historical geographies of post-socialist change

The renaming of streets is a significant, if often overlooked, aspect of post-socialist change in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Such renamings are one manifestation of the 'reconfiguring' of both space and history which is a central component of post-socialist transformations. Street name changes are part of the process of creating new public iconographic landscapes which accord with the values of post-socialist regimes and the study of such changes can offer significant insights into ways in which post-socialist states are redefining national identities and national pasts. This paper focuses on the renaming of streets in Bucharest, Romania over the 1990-1997 period as one component of the 'modern historical geographies' of post-socialist change. A central theme in street name changes has been the evocation of the pre-socialist period, which has been increasingly constructed in terms of Romania's 'Golden Age'. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.