Historical justice has triumphed: Knipovich Street in the Nevsky District has turned into Smolyanaya. Under this name, it appeared on the maps of St. Petersburg as early as 1914. The decision to rename was made by the Toponymic Commission, the corresponding decree was signed by Governor Alexander Beglov.
It is interesting that the initiative to “reverse rename” was put forward by Metropolitan Barsanuphius.
The residents of the renamed street, however, were given an explanation in Smolny: “Documents of registration at the place of residence and stay, as well as confirming the property rights of citizens and organizations containing addresses on Knipovich Street, retain legal force and do not require changes due to the renaming.”
It is reported that before the revolution, Smolyanaya Street was part of the historical district Glass (“Tsarsky”) town and was surrounded by glass factories. In 1976 she received the name of the revolutionary Lydia Knipovich. For the sake of fairness, we recall that a native of Gelsinfors, Lydia Knipovich lived in St. Petersburg from her youth and later taught at the Smolensk Sunday evening school for workers – just beyond the Nevskaya Zastava.