On October 21, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay received a petition signed by 120 intellectuals from around the world, asking her to write to Ukrainian President Zelensky to stop the removal of 19 historic monuments in the city. This concerns an order by the Odessa Regional Military Administration, which has already changed the names of 83 city streets and now intends to remove statues that have adorned the historic centre for centuries. It is part of the "decolonization" law, aimed at removing traces of the Soviet and Russian imperial past from Ukrainian cities under the pressure of Russia's ongoing bloody war against Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the application of this policy of cultural cleansing risks causing severe damage to Ukraine’s most European and multicultural city. For example, what should happen to the Potemkin Stairs, made famous by Eisenstein's film, or the beautiful Opera House, designed by Austrian and Swiss architects? Both monuments are examples of Odessa's imperial age and were built with funds from the Russian administration.
While removing statues and names of Soviet marshals or tsarist generals, heroes of the war against Napoleon, might be understandable, it is far less so to erase the names of the city’s most famous Jewish writers (Isaac Babel, Eduard Bagritsky, Ilya Ilf, Mikhail Zhvanetsky), along with famous writers like Nobel laureate Ivan Bunin and Konstantin Paustovsky, who were strong critics of the revolution and the Soviet Union. Despite the love Odessans have for them, by decision of the regional administration, they must disappear.
What has caused the most dismay among the citizens of Odessa (various polls on local Telegram channels show opposition between 85% and 90%) is the removal of Babel's statue and Pushkin’s bust. Babel is Odessa’s iconic writer, whose “Odessa Tales” created the city’s literary image. Perhaps his initial support for the Bolsheviks, though he later criticized the Soviet system, is disturbing for Ukrainian authorities. However, he paid dearly for his freedom of thought, enduring torture and death in the Lubyanka, the CEKA headquarters in Moscow. Also Russian poet Pushkin’s bust, situated in front of the City Hall, sparked a heated debate. The issue is delicate because, while it is undeniable that Russian culture is used as propaganda tool by the enemy, Odessans claim that this statue is not the public administration's property, but belongs to the citizens of Odessa, who erected it through public subscription. The city’s residents were grateful to the poet for the valuable publicity he gave Odessa, while he lived in the city in forced exile for his anti-tsarist activities. For Odessans, this Pushkin is no emissary of Russia. Quite the opposite. He is Odessa's own dissident poet, exiled for his opposition to Russian autocratic power.
Why appeal to UNESCO on what seems to be an internal Ukrainian matter? Because UNESCO, in an emergency procedure, granted Odessa’s historic centre World Heritage status on 2023, in the middle of the war. Among the local administration’s obligations is the commitment to preserving the monuments, not removing them. Moreover, Odessa was designated as a UNESCO City of Literature in 2019.
The letter to Audrey Azoulay, though indirectly addressed to Zelensky, is not politically opposed to the city’s transformation process, but asks that it be done with the involvement of Odessa’s citizens and not through an administrative decree that disregards the feelings of a city that has shown sincere and generous support for Ukraine’s cause during the Russian invasion. The letter’s ultimate goal is to obtain the right to create a public consultation and expert debate, but after the war, when tempers have cooled. It is essentially a request for more democracy, which martial law and the pressure of war currently prevent.
More than 120 have signed (read the list below). Among them are Odessa's foremost cultural figures: from poets to artists, historians, world renowned musicians, anthropologists, writers. Several of them are Ukrainian defenders too. Oleksandr Onishchenko is a theatre director who volunteered for the front in the first days of the full-scale war. Veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian War and digital artist Dmytro Dokunov, who liberated Kherson and now is creating a rehabilitation centre for veterans. Sculptor Klim Stepanov and historian Oleksandr Babich are currently serving in the UAF.
A number of notable European and American intellectuals have joined Odessa’s cause, from the great Black Sea specialist Thomas de Waal to distinguished Scottish writer Near Ascherson and the author of bestseller_Hare with the Amber Eyes_ (which features Odessa) Edmund de Waal to historian Sir Christopher Clark, anthropologist Dame Caroline Humphrey and Italy’s famous historian Carlo Ginzburg. The letter is also signed by members of Babel’s family, members of the British House of Lords, scholars, historians, photographers, filmmakers who love Odessa and have been staunch supporters of Ukraine in the country’s ally and partner countries.
This is a flattering confirmation of the cultural ties the city has forged globally. Odessa is the Ukrainian city that fascinates the world the most, also thanks to the many historical figures that some now want to censor. A precious jewel for Ukraine, which could be used as a sort of cultural passport for its ambition of entering Europe and for the country’s international image.
List of signatories:
- Anastasia Piliavsky, political anthropologist and columnist, Reader in anthropology and politics at King’s College London, Odesa & Cambridge
- Ilya Kaminsky, poet, essayist and author of Dancing in Odessa, Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Literature at Princeton University, Princeton USA
- Maya Dimerli, writer, literary translator and Head of the ‘Odesa UNESCO City of Literature’ programme, Odesa
- Eugene Demenok, writer, art historian and Ambassador of Odesa in Prague, Prague
- Antonina Poletti, Editor of The Odessa Journal, Odesa
- Ugo Poletti, founder of The Odessa Journal and President of Rotary Club Odesa International, Odesa
- Vitaly Oplachko, explorer, photographer and founder of the Odesa Free University Lectorium, Odesa
- Alexey Botvinov, Ukrainian pianist, Honored Artist of Ukraine and founder of the Odessa Classics Festival, Odesa & Zurich
- Klim Stepanov, sculptor and soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Odesa & the front
- Thomas de Waal, author and analyst, descendant of the Ephrussi family, London
- Edmund de Waal, artist, potter and author of The Hare with the Amber Eyes, descendant of the Ephrussi family, London
- Neal Ascherson, Scottish writer and journalist, author of Black Sea, London
- Sir Christopher Clark, historian of Europe and Regius Professor of History, University of Cambridge
- Baron Maurice Glasman, English political theorist and Labour Life peer in the House of Lords, London
- Mikhail Reva, artist, architect & Honored Artist of Ukraine, Odesa
- Adriano Sofri, journalist and writer, Florence
- Alexander Babich, historian of Odesa and Sergeant in the Ukrainian Armed forces, Odesa & the front
- Lidiya Babel, architect and daughter of Isaac Babel, Tallahassee
- Oksana Lyniv, conductor, founder of Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and Music Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Bologna
- Dmytro Dokunov, veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, digital artist, founder of the Goloka Space Military Rehabilitation Centre, Odesa & Savran
- Andrii Murza, violinist, Founder and Artistic Director of the Odesa International Violin Competition, Faculty at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, 1. Violin of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, Düsseldorf
- Yuri Dikiy, Ukrainian pianist and Head of the Oistrakh and Richter Mission, Odesa
- Dame Caroline Humphrey, anthropologist of Eastern Europe, University of Cambridge
- Vladislav Davidzon, American writer, founder and editor of The Odessa Review, New York
- Valentin Piliavsky, architect, historian of Odesa and author of The Architects of Odessa, Boston USA
- Borys Khersonsky, Ukrainian poet and psychologist, Odesa
- Boris Barsky, poet, dramaturgist, director of Maski Theatre & Honored Artist of Ukraine, Odesa
- Mikhail Poizner, scientist, historian, writer and Honored Transport Worker of Ukraine, Odesa
- Oleg Suslov, Chief Editor of The Evening Odesa, Odesa
- Andrei Malaev-Babel, theatre director, Head of Acting at the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and grandson of Isaac Babel, Tallahassee
- Sabiha Çimen, photographer of the Black Sea at the Magnum Photo Agency, Istanbul
- Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council, Brussels
- Cyrill Lipatov, art historian and curator at the Odesa and Lviv Museums of Fine Art, Odesa & Lviv
- Peter Culshaw, music writer, including about Ukrainian music and art, London
- Yuri Boyko, Ukrainian photographer, including for the Ukrainian Institute of Preservation and Restoration in Odesa, Odesa
- Jason Eskenazi, award-winning photographer of Eastern Europe, New York
- Lyudmyla Khersonska, Ukrainian poet, Odesa
- Mikhail Golubev, Ukrainian chess Grandmaster and journalist, Odesa
- David Shearer, Thomas Muncy Keith Professor of History at the University of Delaware
- Taras Fedirko, anthropologist of Ukraine, Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, Edinburgh
- Patrick Wack, acclaimed photographer, staff photographer for The Washington Post, Paris
- Alex Ulam, American journalist with Lviv roots, New York
- Leonid Shtekel, journalist and Chief Editor of Odesa Daily, Odesa
- Darya Koltsova, Ukrainian artist, Odesa
- Mykhailo Dubynianskyi, Ukrainian publicist, Kyiv
- Kostiantyn Skorkin, Ukrainian journalist, Luhansk
- Ievgen Koshyn, Ukrainian film director, Kyiv
- Irina Yevsa, Ukrainian poet and translator, member of PEN and the Ukrainian Writer’s Union, Kharkiv
- Marina Sapritsky-Nahum, anthropologist at the London School of Economics and author of Jewish Odesa, London
- Serge Poliakov, award-winning photographer, Odesa
- Konstantin Bliokh, composer, physicist and Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, Kharkiv and San Sebastian, Spain
- Maxim Rozenfeld, artist, architect, author and filmmaker, Kharkiv
- John Dunn, political philosopher and historian of European political thought, University of Cambridge
- Vera Biletina, film critic and founder of the “Illusion” cinema club, Kherson
- Oleg Kutskiy, internationally acclaimed photo artist, Odesa
- Carlo Ginzburg, Italian historian and microhistorian, Bologna
- Vladislav Vodko, historian of Ukraine and lecturer in history at the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University, Odesa
- Jeremy Musson, British author, educator and architectural historian, London
- Eva Neymann, Ukrainian filmmaker, director of the film “Privoz,” Berlin
- Steven J. Zipperstein, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History at Stanford University, author of The Jews of Odessa, Stanford
- Marat Grinberg, Professor of Humanities at Reed College, author of The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf, Portland, USA
- Tchavdar Georgiev, Odesa-born writer and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Los Angeles
- Pavlo Maiboroda, history teacher and founder of the “Pidpillya” free space, Odesa
- Anna Golubovska, Ukrainian photographer, Odesa
- Kateryna Biletina, award-winning artist, portraitist of Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, Odesa
- Vladimir Tukmakov, Ukrainian chess Grandmaster, winner of the FIDE 100 Best Trainer Award, Odesa
- Angelo Bucarelli, artist and art curator, Rome
- Ekaterina Luki, curator, art consultant, GFAA Art Liaison Committee Chair, contributor to Art & Museum Magazine, Odesa, London, New York & Milan
- Nata Golovchenko, architect, painter, head of the NG Architects Studio, Odesa
- Alexander Kurlyand, member of the Transport Academy of Ukraine, Odesa
- Roman Morgenstern, corresponding member of the Transport Academy of Ukraine, Odesa
- Daniel Khalupsky, filmmaker and investment banker, New York
- Hobart Earle, internationally acclaimed conductor, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra, People's Artist of Ukraine, Odesa
- Philipp Christoph Schmädeke, political scientist and Director of the German Science at Risk Emergency Office, Berlin
- Alberto Veronesi, conductor and President of the Committee for the Celebrations of Giacomo Puccini’s Centenary of the Italian Government, Milan
- Massimo Vassallo, Italian historian, specialist in Eastern Europe and Ukrainian history, Cuneo
- Igor Pokrovskyi, Honored Journalist of Ukraine, CEO of the TV company Mediainform, artistic director of the International Festival Odesa Golden Violins, Odesa & Vienna
- Natalia Khokhlova-Pokrovski, journalist, Director of the TV company Mediainform, Odesa & Vienna
- Hanna Lisova, Ukrainian stage director, Kharkiv and San Sebastian, Spain
- Yuriy Romanenko, political commentator, broadcaster and Chief Editor of khvylya.net, Kyiv
- Yuriy Tsurkan, artist, Odesa & Berlin
- Michael Löffler, director of OCCAM Labs and member of Rotary Club Odessa International, Odesa
- Katie Farris, poet, literary translator, Professor at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, Princeton
- Heorhii Kasianov, historian of Ukraine, head of the Laboratory of International Memory Studies, Marie Curie-Sklodowska University, former head of the Department of Modern History and Politics at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv; Lublin, Poland
- Massimo Morelli, rector of the Luigi Boccherini Music Conservatory in Lucca, Lucca
- Anna Misiyk, historian of the cultural history of Odesa at the Odesa Literary Museum, Odesa
- Mark Naydorf, philosopher, lecturer in history and theory of culture, Odesa National Pedagogical University, Odesa
- Olga Yarovaya, artist, member of the Ukrainian Artists’ Union, Odesa
- Daniil Russov, documentary photographer and journalist, Member of the Kharkiv School of Photography, Kyiv
- Matthias Schmidt, professor at the Technische Universität Dresden, University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Goerlitz and the Odesа Polytechnic National University
- Oleg Tretyak, fine art photographer, Odesa
- Emilien Urbano, acclaimed war photographer and filmmaker working on a frontline documentary since 2022, Kyiv & Paris
- Yefim Aglitskiy, Odesa-born physicist, Fellow of the American Physical Society, Alexandria USA
- Taissia Naidenko, acclaimed poet and journalist, Odesa
- Lesya Verba, artist, bandura player, author of the History of “non Odesa” Songs songbook, Odesa & New York
- Yulia Verba, writer and playwright, recipient of the Sholom Aleichem National Award for contributions to Ukrainian and Jewish culture, Member of American PEN, New York
- Arthur Zolotarevsky, CEO of the NeuroIFRAH Clinic, Director of the New York chapter of the Odesa Worldwide Club, New York
- Kateryna Bezpalova, philologist, interpreter and Associate Professor at the Odesa National University, Odesa
- Boris Alexandrov, Member of the Designers Council of Ukraine, Member of the Art Directors Club of Ukraine, Founder and Creative Director of the international branding and architecture agency Brandon Archibald
- Mykhailo Rashkovetskyi, art historian, curator, member of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize Committee (2019-2023), Odesa
- Oleksandr Levytskyi, architectural photographer, CEO of the Architecture of Odesa and Odesa’s Thousand Doors restoration project; developer of the Guide to setting up Odesa signboards, Odesa
- Dmytro Shamatazhi, historian, architectural photographer for the Architecture of Odesa project, restorer at Thousands of Odessa doors project, Odesa
- Borys Goloborodko, Medical Doctor, Odesa
- Vittoria Massimiani, Slavist and Italianist, literary translator and creator and director of Italian (and bilingual Italian-French) books-editions, Paris
- Anne Gorouben, painter, Paris
- Isabelle Némirovski, President of the association Les Amis d’Odessa and author of Histoire, mémoires et représentations des Juifs d’Odessa, Paris
- Janna Kiseleva, architect art director & Founder в JK Lab Architectural studio, Head of Design Council with City Hall of Odessa, Limassol & Odesa
- Oleg Favelukis, CEO в JK Lab Architectural studio, Limassol & Odesa
- Maryna Perepelytsia-Simonetti, Ukrainian pianist, Director of the children's music festival "Made in Ukraine," Odesa & Freiburg im Breisgau
- Anne Duruflé, diplomat, Paris
- Michel Guikovaty, pianist, Paris
- Regina Maryanovska Davidzon, filmmaker, award winning producer, co-founder of The Odessa Review, and of Real Pictures, Odesa & Paris
- Boris Vladimirsky, Odesa-born art scholar and author of Rejoicing and Shuddering (works of Isaac Babel), San Jose
- Stefano Della Torre, civil engineer and architect, President of the SIRA (Italian Society of Architectural Restoration), Milan
- Harald Binder, historian and philanthropist, chair of the Foundation for the Promotion of Culture, Science, and Education in Ukraine, founder of the Center for Urban History and Jam Factory Art Center in Lviv, Lviv
- Sofia Dyak, historian, director of the Center for Urban History in Lviv, Lviv
- Alexandr Onishchenko, theatre director and serving marine in the Ukrainian Navy, Odesa & the front
- Edward Amchislavsky, art historian, New York
- Kateryna Titova, distinguished Ukrainian pianist and artist in residence in Raiding, Berlin
- Marina Kovalyov, President of the A.S.E.Global Bridges Foundation, New York
- Alexander Tsymbalyuk, award-winning Ukrainian opera singer, Honored Artist of Ukraine, member of the Hamburg State Opera, soloist of the world’s leading opera houses, Hamburg
- Christophe Lacarin, viticulteur, member of Rotary Club Odessa International, Odesa
