Members of the lower house of parliament, the People's Assembly, said they would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin permission to give the city the name of Akhmatkala.
Parliamentary speaker Dukvakh Adburakhmanov justified the decision by saying the name Groznaya (literally "threatening") given the 19th-century Russian military fortress that became Grozny in 1870 "has brought the Chechen people nothing good and is associated with the darkest pages of its history."
The newsru.com information website says that, under Russian laws, any decision to change a city's name must be approved by referendum.
Kadyrov died in a suspected separatist bomb attack on 9 May 2004. His son Ramzan is first deputy prime minister in the current pro-Russian administration.
(Interfax/newsru.com)
2005 In Pictures
A slideshow of images related to the top news stories of 2005.
See also:
2005 In Review: Text Messaging Takes World By Storm
2005 In Review: Bush's Democracy Agenda Sees Mixed Results
2005 In Review: EU Lives Year Of Gloom, With Future Uncertain