How are geographic features named?
The names of the geographical objects are not given by chance. A geographic feature is named for some feature that distinguishes it from other features. These can be names reflecting the physical and geographical position of the region, its flora and fauna; names associated with the practical activities of a person, with individual phenomena and objects of the material and spiritual culture of the local population; names derived from proper names, etc.
A proposal to assign a name to a geographical object or to rename a geographical object may be made by state authorities, local authorities, as well as public associations, legal entities, citizens of the Russian Federation. The documents justifying the said proposal and the calculations of the necessary costs are first sent for consideration to the state authorities, and then - for examination by the Federal service of state . The following documents are attached:
copies of decisions on the approval of the proposal of state authorities or local authorities, on the territory of which the geographic object is located;
copies of the appeal of the person who initiated the assignment of the name to the geographical object, received by the state authorities;
copies of documents on informing the population of the relevant territories and the results of identifying the opinion of the population;
calculations of financial costs for the implementation of the proposal;
justification of the proposed name of the geographical object, biographical information about the life and activities of the person whose name it is proposed to assign to the geographical object, copies of documents confirming the awarding of state awards (if it is proposed to assign the name of a person who has merits to the state), information about the presence of homogeneous geographical objects of the same name;
copies of topographic maps that allow to unambiguously identify a geographic object and its location;
the geographic coordinates of the center of a geographic feature, determined to the nearest tenth of a minute.
A positive expert opinion is submitted by Rosreestr to the Government of the Russian Federation with a draft of the corresponding order of the Government of the Russian Federation containing the normalized name of the geographic object, and a copy of this opinion is sent to the person who sent the proposal for assignment.
The decision to establish the name of a geographical object is made by the Government of the Russian Federation.