Disappeared oikonyms as part of the toponymic space of the region
The names of settlements (oikonyms) constitute a significant part of the toponymic space of any subject of the Russian Federation and are one of its most ancient components. Due to the fact that over the past decades thousands of oikonyms have disappeared from the geographical map of Russia and neighboring states, the former republics of the Soviet Union, in which valuable linguistic and cultural-historical information about the time of their origin has been preserved, this work is very relevant. Among the main reasons for the disappearance of the names of settlements, the author singles out the reorganization of administrative-territorial (territorial) units (in the form of a merger, annexation, separation, division), the abolition of administrative-territorial or territorial units, the assignment of names to administrative-territorial and territorial units and the renaming of administrative-territorial units. and territorial units. The novelty of the research lies in the consideration of these processes on the territory of the Voronezh region from 1959 to the present. The aim of the work is to draw the attention of toponymic researchers to the problem of studying bygone toponyms and compiling regional dictionaries of disappeared oikonyms, which, in the author's opinion, will make it possible to pass on to descendants, as part of the intangible heritage of bygone times, linguistic and cultural-historical information extracted from bygone names of settlements.