Volodymyr Zelenskyy considered an electronic petition to rename Russia to Muscovy and instructed Prime Minister Denys Shmygal to "work through" this issue, Ukrayinska Pravda reports .
The petition was published on November 23, 2022 and has already gained 25,000 signatures. Its author believes that Muscovy is the historical name of Russia, which was found on "many historical maps" in the 16th-19th centuries, after Peter I proclaimed the state the Russian Empire.
Zelensky published a response to the petition, in which, in particular, he wrote that “the issue raised in the petition requires careful study both in the historical and cultural context and taking into account possible international legal consequences.”
He instructed Prime Minister Denis Shmygal to "comprehensively work out" the issue of renaming Russia "in particular, with the involvement of scientific institutions."