U.S. ‘Sister Cities’ Sever Relationships to Counterparts in Russia

Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding

BY SARAH SIELOFF

Around the U.S. and around the world, city halls and other urban landmarks have been bathed in the blue and gold of the Ukrainian flag as an expression of support for the embattled nation following Russia’s invasion. 

Grocery store chains and state-owned liquor stores from Alabama to Idaho have pulled Russian products from their shelves, while several governors and state lawmakers have proposed divesting pension funds of Russian-controlled assets and banning state agencies from doing business with Russian state-owned firms. Multiple cities have turned to another lever of international diplomacy to send a message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin — the “sister city” relationships that link many similarly sized global municipalities. 

In Chicago, home to the Midwest’s largest Ukrainian American population, Mayor Lori Lightfoot suspended the city’s 25-year sister city relationship with Moscow following a request by 36 aldermen. (Both Kyiv and Moscow are Chicago sibling cities.) “We had to do something to show our solidarity with the rest of the civilized world, and this was the way to do it,” says Alderman Brian Hopkins.

Charlotte, North Carolina, has also moved to end its 31-year relationship with the Russian city of Voronezh. In Los Angeles, several City Council members introduced a resolution condemning Putin and another to adopt Kyiv as a sister city.

Read the rest of the article on Bloomberg CityLab.

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Sarah Sieloff is a member of the Pacific Council and one of the 2022 Amplify fellows. Sarah Sieloff is a senior planner at Maul Foster Alongi, an integrated multidisciplinary consulting firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest..

This article was originally published by Bloomberg CityLab.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.