Medvedev called Odessa a Russian city and called on it to “return home”
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Odessa is a Russian city and called on it to “return home.” This is how he answered Lenta.ru’s question at a meeting with journalists.
About Odessa I can simply say: “Odessa, come home.” That's all. We have been waiting for Odessa in the Russian Federation, even because of the history of this city, what kind of people live there, what language they speak. This is our Russian, Russian city
Medvedev called the demolition of monuments to Russian figures in Odessa short-sighted. According to him, in this way the Ukrainian authorities are alienating some of the people, even those who were loyal to them until recently. The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council noted that this looks monstrous, since we are talking about opposition to the entire Russian culture and the common path of Russia and Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin called Odessa a Russian city
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly called Odessa, part of Ukraine, a Russian city.
Odessa is a Russian city and a little Jewish
In October 2022, speaking about the special operation, he emphasized that Odessa can be both a bone of contention and a symbol of conflict resolution.
Thus, the Hungarian journalist Gabor Stier, during a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club, asked Vladimir Putin for advice on what kind of visa he should get – Russian or Ukrainian – if he plans to travel to the city next summer or in two years. In response, the president called Odessa one of the most beautiful cities in the world and recalled that its founder was Empress Catherine II.
Odessa can be both an apple of discord, and a symbol of conflict resolution, and a symbol of finding some kind of solution to everything that is happening now. The question is not about us
At the same time, Vladimir Putin called the southeastern regions of Ukraine historically Russian territories, which explained the pro-Russian orientation of the region’s population.
Monuments to Russian figures continue to be demolished in Odessa
Back in November last year, the Ukrainian government excluded many monuments associated with Russia from the register of cultural heritage, including in Odessa.
Since the beginning of the conflict, a monument to the writer Maxim Gorky, a memorial plaque and a monument to the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov, the last surviving monument to the young Vladimir Lenin in the country, as well as a monument to the founders of Odessa have been dismantled in the city. The last of the monuments, which was decorated with the figures of Empress Catherine II and her closest associates – Jose de Ribas, Franz de Volland, as well as princes Grigory Potemkin and Platon Zubov – was removed one night on December 28, 2022 by a construction crane, having previously been wrapped in a black bag, and taken to a warehouse.
This is not the first time in history that the monument to Catherine II has been demolished. It was originally opened in 1900 with money from Odessa patrons and citizens. But 20 years later, the monument was dismantled by the Bolsheviks, and the statue of the empress was partially broken. The object was restored after the collapse of the Soviet Union – in 2007 by decision of the city council, using preserved bronze fragments
Monuments to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, like decided City Hall, they can still remain in their places. The recommendation for the preservation of these objects was made by the historical and toponymic commission, calling the monuments works of monumental art of exceptional value.
However, the commission recommended removing the monument to Leo Tolstoy from the public space, clearing the Alexander Column of imperial symbols (which did not happen even in the early USSR) and moving the sculptures of Felix Dzerzhinsky and Valery Chkalov to a museum space that will be created in the future.
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In Odessa, they are concerned about the growing hatred of everything Russian
Mayor of Odessa Gennady Trukhanov in interview newspaper The New York Times expressed concern about the growing hatred of everything Russian and spoke out against the renaming of Pushkinskaya Street, located next to the city hall.
Odessa is the multicultural capital of Ukraine. I'm worried about the growing hatred of everything Russian
However, in February in the city decided rename almost 50 place names in honor of Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin and other figures associated with Russia. The question is now on consideration city council.
The fight against Russian heritage in the public space was preceded by the decision of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which supported a bill prohibiting the assignment of names associated with Russia and the USSR to geographical objects.
The Verkhovna Rada supported the “decolonization law.” In particular, it is prohibited to assign names to geographical objects that glorify, perpetuate, promote or symbolize Russia
In 2014, Odessa was the center of pro-Russian protests
As in many other southeastern cities of Ukraine, in Odessa many did not accept the victory of Euromaidan in 2014. Local activists began to organize themselves to achieve federalization and preservation of the legal status of the Russian language. But the project of a “people’s republic” did not find support: against the background of the unfolding hostilities, the authorities brutally began to suppress any pro-Russian activity.
As a result, riots in Odessa in May 2014 escalated into street battles between supporters and opponents of Euromaidan and led to a fire in the House of Trade Unions, in which 48 people died
In 2017, a court in Chernomorsk (formerly Ilyichevsk) acquitted activists of the pro-Russian Kulikovo Pole movement, who were accused of participating in mass riots.
The events of May 2, 2014 remain one of the most serious tragedies for Odessa in history. Nothing like this has happened in the city since the Great Patriotic War, when it was under occupation.
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