Talk:Kyiv

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Kyiv article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article.

Add new text under old text. New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help. Start a new topic Assume good faith Be polite and avoid personal attacks Be welcoming to newcomers Seek dispute resolution if needed Article policies Neutral point of view No original research Verifiability

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11Auto-archiving period: 3 months

view · edit Frequently asked questions Q: Why was this article moved from Kiev to Kyiv? A: In short: both are common names in use, but according to consensus in the last discussion the title Kyiv satisfies more of Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, including WP:MODERNPLACENAME and WP:NAMECHANGES. This conclusion was supported by a rough consensus of two to one by participants in a very long debate on the article's discussion page, and the title was changed on 16 September 2020. You can read the full rationale and discussion in the talk archive: talk:Kyiv/Archive 7 § Requested move 28 August 2020. Q: Can we move it back to Kiev? A: A one-year moratorium on move requests for this article was in effect until 16 September 2021. Please take all discussion on naming the article to talk:Kyiv/naming and start a discussion there before opening a move request.

This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

	Kyiv was a Geography and places good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
Article milestones Date Process Result August 21, 2005 Peer review Reviewed May 23, 2006 Featured article candidate Not promoted September 25, 2007 Good article nominee Not listed
Current status: Former good article nominee

This  level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects.

Cities: National capitals This article is within the scope of WikiProject Cities, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of cities, towns and various other settlements on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.CitiesWikipedia:WikiProject CitiesTemplate:WikiProject CitiesWikiProject Cities This article is supported by the project's national capital taskforce. Ukraine: Subdivisions Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Ukraine, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Ukraine on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.UkraineWikipedia:WikiProject UkraineTemplate:WikiProject UkraineUkraine Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by the Ukrainian subdivisions WikiProject. Former countries This article is within the scope of WikiProject Former countries, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of defunct states and territories (and their subdivisions). If you would like to participate, please join the project.Former countriesWikipedia:WikiProject Former countriesTemplate:WikiProject Former countriesformer country Russia: History Low‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Russia, a WikiProject dedicated to coverage of Russia on Wikipedia. To participate: Feel free to edit the article attached to this page, join up at the project page, or contribute to the project discussion.RussiaWikipedia:WikiProject RussiaTemplate:WikiProject RussiaRussia Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by the history of Russia task force.

This article has been mentioned by multiple media organizations: "#KyivnotKiev:#kyivfourrome Wikipedia changes spelling of Ukrainian capital". UNIAN. 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2020-09-19. The press service suggested that the moderators decided to "rename" the article because of the growing use of "Kyiv" in English-language sources. Daryna Antoniuk (2020-09-18). "Kyiv not Kiev: Wikipedia changes spelling of Ukrainian capital". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2020-09-19. Wikipedia couldn't change the mistake earlier because it just displayed the spelling that is most popular among prestigious international media outlets, the Ukrainian representative office of Wikipedia said. Stephen Harrison (1 March 2022). "How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Is Playing Out on English, Ukrainian, and Russian Wikipedia". Slate. Retrieved 1 March 2022. But before covering the latest developments, it's worth revisiting one of the most brutal edit wars in Wikipedia's history, which also says something about the Ukrainian spirit. The issue was whether the web encyclopedia should spell Ukraine's capital as "Kyiv" or "Kiev." Catarina Buchatskiy (20 May 2022). "The War Over Ukraine—On Wikipedia". Lawfare. Retrieved 3 May 2026.

The contentious topics procedure applies to this article. This article relates to the Balkans or Eastern Europe. Editors who repeatedly or seriously fail to adhere to the purpose of Wikipedia, any expected standards of behaviour, or any normal editorial process may be blocked or restricted by an administrator.

This article has previously been nominated to be moved. Please review prior discussions if you are considering renomination. Move logs: Kyiv Kiev Discussions RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Not moved, 9 July 2019, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Not moved, 26 October 2019, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Moved, 16 September 2020, discussion MRV, Endorsed, 28 September 2020, discussion Older discussions RM, Kiev → Kyiv, No consensus, 30 July 2007, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, No consensus, 5 September 2007, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, No consensus, 11 September 2007, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, No consensus, 10 February 2008, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Not moved, 23 September 2008, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Not moved, 29 October 2009, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, No consensus, 18 November 2012, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Snow close, not moved, 7 November 2013, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Snow close, not moved, 3 October 2017, discussion RM, Kiev → Kyiv, Snow close, not moved, 12 October 2018, discussion

A special subpage has been created for discussing the name of the article, Talk:Kyiv/naming. Please take all naming discussion there! (Note: To edit content in the box above, please go to Talk:Kyiv/naming/old discussion list.)

This article has been viewed enough times in a single week to appear in the Top 25 Report. The week in which this happened: February 20 to 26, 2022

Naming archives (Talk:Kyiv/naming)

Archive 1 Archive 2 Archive 3 Archive 4 Archive 5 Archive 6 Archive 7 Archive 8 Archive 9 Archive 10 Archive 11 Archive 12 Archive 13 Archive 14 Archive 15 Archive 16

This page has archives. Topics inactive for 30 days are automatically archived 1 or more at a time by Lowercase sigmabot III if there are more than 2.

The correct name of the city is Kiev. Bashkortostan702 (talk) 16:36, 20 January 2026 (UTC)Reply

See WP:KYIV. We've been having this discussion for so long that it literally has its own internal page. Legendbird (talk) 12:22, 21 January 2026 (UTC)Reply

From 1995 Kyiv is the only right and official name. The city is named after a potential founder of that city - Kyi, that logically leads to "Kyiv". (By legend Kyiv was found by three brothers: Kyi, Shchek,Khoryv— and their sister Lybid). Also, It's the right transliteration from ukrainian. ~2026-16120-59 (talk) 16:25, 14 March 2026 (UTC)Reply

As a separate language, English can and often does use different names than Ukrainian. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:21, 16 March 2026 (UTC)Reply

Kyiv is the correct English name of the city according to the city authorities themselves. Xomegas (talk) 03:28, 24 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

Remind me when the Ukrainian government received control over the English language. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 12:00, 24 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

If the government of a country or city specifies a certain English name for a city and the name is in widespread use, then it should be used by Wikipedia. Most sources now use "Kyiv" over "Kiev". Xomegas (talk) 12:17, 24 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

The point is that it is usage by English sources that matters, not the official request. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:41, 24 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

What the "government of a country or city specifies" means zero here. We look at what is the most common usage in the English language per sources (or we're supposed to... don't look at Mt McKinley). Ukraine has no authority to dictate what the world uses. With Kyiv, the English speaking world changed the spelling because of the Russian invasion. They didn't however change the pronunciation. Fyunck(click) (talk) 20:13, 24 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

Change of the spelling has nothing to do with russian invasion. Kyiv is capital of Ukraine, in Ukrainian language name of the city is "Київ" not russian version "Киев" which in English transliterates as "Kiev". If for example polish cities have correct transliteration in English then Ukrainian cities also have right to be translitarated correctly. Ілля Тертишник (talk) 20:40, 24 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

There is no such thing as "right to be transliterated correctly". English has the right to use wharever names it chooses. Sometimes those will match the native names. Sometimes they won't. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 22:42, 24 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Who determines what is correct in English ?. All major media like New York time's, BBC, Reuters or mapping service's like google maps major Airline's. They all use form "Kyiv" not "Kiev". So there's no point in calling it "Kiev" anymore. World is changing and Ukraine is independent for 30+ years already. Russia is no longer deciding how our city is called. Ілля Тертишник (talk) 11:01, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I didn't say anyone was still calling it Kiev. I was simply pointing out that whatever it is called in English is the business of English speakers only. What Ukrainians do or don't like is totally beside the point. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:03, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Polish language doesn't undergo transliteration, we use Roman alphabet not Cyrillic -wojtekpolska^{₁₀₁₃ [talk page]} 12:13, 21 August 2026 (UTC)Reply

Ян Суходольский (talk) 00:20, 1 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

Reduced image sizes. Danski454 (talk) 19:45, 11 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Change "Kiev is the traditional English name for the city,[17][20][21] but because of its historical derivation from the Russian name, Kiev lost favor with many Western media outlets after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 in conjunction with the KyivNotKiev campaign launched by Ukraine to change the way that international media were spelling the city's name.[22]" to "Kiev is the English name for the city when transliterated from the Russian language,[17][20][21] but because of its historical derivation from the Russian name, Kiev lost favor with many Western media outlets after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 in conjunction with the KyivNotKiev campaign launched by Ukraine to change the way that international media were spelling the city's name.[22]" Proeditorbos (talk) 18:05, 11 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done as the current wording is more precise than the requested change. Thanks. Ktkvtsh (talk) 02:45, 13 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

~2026-44998-78 (talk) 05:51, 17 August 2026 (UTC)Reply

has been invaded

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Cannolis (talk) 06:07, 17 August 2026 (UTC)Reply