Yakutsk businesses ditch English names under new de-anglicization law

From 'Sinners' to 'Greshniki,' Yakutsk's bars and cafés are racing to rebrand. Will the city's identity change—or just its signage?

, and Administrator

2026 April 25 . 2:05 PM

1 min read

The image shows an old photo of a city street with buildings, trees, poles, people, and the sky. At... — The image shows an old photo of a city street with buildings, trees, poles, people, and the sky. At the top of the image, there is some text which reads "процесский сорограция в вительный обложденица, выпильющих соворь, фото, изображенных, комплективание, пригинованная следина" which translates to "The streets of the city of Moscow, Russia".

YAKUTIA.INFO. Businesses in Yakutsk Begin Enforcing State Duma's Anti-Anglicism Law*

Yakutsk businesses ditch English names under new de-anglicization law

Yakutsk entrepreneurs have started implementing a recently adopted State Duma bill aimed at curbing the use of English loanwords in commercial names. The legislation effectively bans foreign terms in business signage and branding.

A correspondent from Yakutia.Info captured a striking example: the Cafe Racer bar has been rebranded as "Kafeshny Gonshchik" ("Café Racer").

Cafe Racer bar is now "Kafeshny Gonshchik"

But there's still plenty left to "fix," such as:

Kitchen gastropub → "Kukhnya" ("Kitchen")
Hills nightclub → "Gory" ("Mountains") or "Kholmy" ("Hills")
Green Market store → "Zelyony Rynok" ("Green Market")
"Next" convenience store → "Sleduyushchy" ("Next")
Display shop → "Otobrazheniye" ("Display") or "Ekran" ("Screen")
Glam café → "Yarky" ("Bright") or "Glamurny" ("Glamorous")
Sinners launch bar → "Greshniki" ("Sinners")
Galaxy nightclub → "Galaktika" ("Galaxy")
"Soul" restaurant → "Dusha" ("Soul")
Small Talk bar → "Svetskaya Beseda" ("Small Talk")
Cherry café → "Chereshnya" ("Cherry")
Beerkyt pub → "Naley Piva" ("Beer Pour") or "Pivakut" (?)
Casper grocery market → "Kaznachey" ("Treasurer") (?)
"Blues" supermarket → "Grust" ("Sadness") (?)
"Country Steak" restaurant → "Derevensky Kusok Myasa" ("Village Cut of Meat") (?)