Place names are political. When they change, it’s often the result of someone’s victory, whether political or military. When Saigon became Ho Chi Minh City or St. Petersburg became Leningrad, you knew there was a new boss in town. Other times, it’s a sign that someone or something has fallen out of public favor — like when the Ontario city of Berlin decided to become Kitchener when its young men were fighting Germans in World War I. Authoritarians especially love to change the names of […]