The name change is proposed as a countermeasure if Finland decides to limit the number of tourist visas granted to Russians.
14:32•Updated 14:59
In Russian, which is spreading on the Internet at the initiative (you switch to another service) it is proposed that the easternmost bay of the Baltic Sea, located in front of St. Petersburg, be renamed Kotlinojärvi.
According to the arguments of the petition, the Russian name of the water area, Finski Zaliv – i.e. the Gulf of Finland – no longer corresponds to the present day.
Relations between Russia and Finland have cooled due to the war in Ukraine and Finland’s NATO application. Russia recently added Finland to the list of unfriendly countries.
Author of the web address Anatoly Kireev suggests that the name could be changed to protest if Finland started restricting tourist visas for Russians.
The proposal for a name change has not received much support so far.
Also local Neva Today (you switch to another service) asked his readers what the water area off St. Petersburg should be called. A couple of hundred people answered the survey. The majority supported Kotlinojärvi. Alternatives were also Suomenlahti and the ironic name of Nevanlahti, i.e. Marquisilätkkö.
Name change unlikely
The name Kotlinojärvi originates from the 13th century. For the first time, it was used to refer to the eastern corner of the Baltic Sea in the territorial division agreement between the cities of Novgorod, Gotland and Germany.
The word Kotlinojärvi has German roots. Before its Russian form was established, the body of water was called Kotwing in German.
Only in the 17th century a pro-European emperor Peter the Great named the area the Gulf of Finland.
Russian legislation allows for the renaming of the area near St. Petersburg. However, the city of St. Petersburg cannot change the name on its own, because the Neva water areas and the Gulf of Finland are not part of its decision-making authority.
The final decision on the name change is made by a special authority of the Russian state.