Petition seeks to rename Russian embassy street in Ottawa for Navalny

Article content

An Ottawa man has launched a petition to have the street in front of the Russian embassy renamed for opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is to be buried Friday in Moscow.

Navalny died two weeks ago in a remote Russian penal colony.

Article content

Aaron Lauzon wants the segment of Charlotte Street in front of the embassy renamed for Navalny, a lawyer and politician who risked his life to expose corruption, incompetence and gangsterism among Russia’s ruling elite.

Article content

More than 9,000 people had signed the online petition as of Thursday.

Lauzon said he was deeply moved by Navalny’s courage and resilience and wanted to find a way to honour the late freedom fighter.

“By renaming this street segment, we can ensure that, every time Russia addresses their Canadian embassy, they are reminded of Navalny’s courage and his unwavering commitment towards democratic values,” Lauzon wrote. “It will serve as an enduring symbol not only for Russians, but also for Canadians who value freedom and human rights.”

Lauzon has proposed that the name of Charlotte Street be changed to Navalny Street from Wilbrod Street to Range Road. It means, he said, that the Russian embassy would be the only Sandy Hill address affected by the name change.

The city councillor for the ward, however, is opposed to the plan. Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante said that, while she respected Navalny for standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, she could not support renaming a street in his honour given his statements on Ukraine.

“My husband is Ukrainian-Canadian, and Mr. Navalny held some pretty reprehensible views about Ukrainian nationhood,” Plante said.

Article content

In 2014, Navalny said he opposed the Russian invasion of Crimea, but did not think the occupied peninsula should just be “handed back” to Ukraine by the Russian government. Previously, he also suggested that Russians, Ukrainians and Belarussians were all one people who would ultimately live in the same country.

It’s part of what Navalny biographer David Herszenhorn has described as the Russian dissident’s “long and contradictory history with Ukraine.” Navalny’s father was born in Ukraine, Herszenhorn noted, and he spent many childhood summers with his grandparents there.

Navalny, who died on Feb. 16 at the age of 47, is to be buried in the Russian capital on Friday after a church service in the suburb where he once lived. Many leaders in the West, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have blamed Putin for Navalny’s still-unexplained death.

Plante said she had “very personal reasons” for not wanting a street named for Navalny in Ottawa, but she said it was open to other councillors to bring the idea forward.

Two years ago, the House of Commons called for all or part of Charlotte Street to be renamed in honour of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Article content

The city’s commemorative naming program is now on hold. It was paused last year to facilitate a program and policy review to create a more “equitable and inclusive” naming policy.

A report on the revised naming policy is expected to go to council later this year.

Two years ago, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city unveiled “Free-Libre Ukraine” signs that were posted in front of the sprawling Russian embassy at the intersection of Charlotte Street and Laurier Avenue East.

Article content