Global alliance of 150 intellectuals urges UNESCO to protect Odessa from cultural erasure

On October 21, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay received a petition signed by 150 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:

1. Anastasia Piliavsky, political anthropologist and columnist, Reader in anthropology and politics at King’s College London, Odesa & Cambridge
2. 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
3. Maya Dimerli, writer, literary translator and Head of the ‘Odesa UNESCO City of Literature’ programme, Odesa
4. Eugene Demenok, writer, art historian and Ambassador of Odesa in Prague, Prague
5. Antonina Poletti, Editor of The Odessa Journal, Odesa
6. Ugo Poletti, founder of The Odessa Journal and President of Rotary Club Odesa International, Odesa
7. Vitaly Oplachko, explorer, photographer and founder of the Odesa Free University Lectorium, Odesa
8. Alexey Botvinov, Ukrainian pianist, Honored Artist of Ukraine and founder of the Odessa Classics Festival, Odesa & Zurich
9. Klim Stepanov, sculptor and soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Odesa & the front
10. Thomas de Waal, author and analyst, descendant of the Ephrussi family, London
11. Edmund de Waal, artist, potter and author of The Hare with the Amber Eyes, descendant of the Ephrussi family, London
12. Neal Ascherson, Scottish writer and journalist, author of Black Sea, London
13. Sir Christopher Clark, historian of Europe and Regius Professor of History, University of Cambridge
14. Baron Maurice Glasman, English political theorist and Labour Life peer in the House of Lords, London
15. Mikhail Reva, artist, architect & Honored Artist of Ukraine, Odesa
16. Adriano Sofri, journalist and writer, Florence
17. Alexander Babich, historian of Odesa and Sergeant in the Ukrainian Armed forces, Odesa & the front
18. Lidiya Babel, architect and daughter of Isaac Babel, Tallahassee
19. Serhiy Bochechka, philologist and specialist in Ukrainian literature, Captain of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv and the front
20. Oksana Lyniv, conductor, founder of Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and Music Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Bologna
21. Dmytro Dokunov, veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, digital artist, founder of the Goloka Space Military Rehabilitation Centre, Odesa & Savran
22. 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
23. Yuri Dikiy, Ukrainian pianist and Head of the Oistrakh and Richter Mission, Odesa
24. Dame Caroline Humphrey, anthropologist of Eastern Europe, University of Cambridge
25. Vladislav Davidzon, American writer, founder and editor of The Odessa Review, New York
26. Valentin Piliavsky, architect, historian of Odesa and author of The Architects of Odessa, Boston USA
27. Borys Khersonsky, Ukrainian poet and psychologist, Odesa
28. Boris Barsky, poet, dramaturgist, director of Maski Theatre & Honored Artist of Ukraine, Odesa
29. Mikhail Poizner, scientist, historian, writer and Honored Transport Worker of Ukraine, Odesa
30. Oleg Suslov, Chief Editor of The Evening Odesa, Odesa
31. Andrei Malaev-Babel, theatre director, Head of Acting at the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and grandson of Isaac Babel, Tallahassee 
32. Sabiha Çimen, photographer of the Black Sea at the Magnum Photo Agency, Istanbul
33. Cyrill Lipatov, art historian and curator at the Odesa and Lviv Museums of Fine Art, Odesa & Lviv
34. Peter Culshaw, music writer, including about Ukrainian music and art, London
35. Yuri Boyko, Ukrainian photographer, including for the Ukrainian Institute of Preservation and Restoration in Odesa, Odesa
36. Jason Eskenazi, award-winning photographer of Eastern Europe, New York
37. Mikhail Golubev, Ukrainian chess Grandmaster and journalist, Odesa
38. David Shearer, Thomas Muncy Keith Professor of History at the University of Delaware
39. Taras Fedirko, anthropologist of Ukraine, Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, Edinburgh
40. Patrick Wack, acclaimed photographer, staff photographer for The Washington Post, Paris
41. Alex Ulam, American journalist with Lviv roots, New York
42. Leonid Shtekel, journalist and Chief Editor of Odesa Daily, Odesa
43. Darya Koltsova, Ukrainian artist, Odesa
44. Mykhailo Dubynianskyi, Ukrainian publicist, Kyiv
45. Kostiantyn Skorkin, Ukrainian journalist, Luhansk
46. Ievgen Koshyn, Ukrainian film director, Kyiv
47. Irina Yevsa, Ukrainian poet and translator, member of PEN and the Ukrainian Writer’s Union, Kharkiv
48. Marina Sapritsky-Nahum, anthropologist at the London School of Economics and author of Jewish Odesa, London
49. Serge Poliakov, award-winning photographer, Odesa
50. Konstantin Bliokh, composer, physicist and Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, Kharkiv and San Sebastian, Spain
51. Maxim Rozenfeld, artist, architect, author and filmmaker, Kharkiv
52. John Dunn, political philosopher and historian of European political thought, University of Cambridge
53. Vera Biletina, film critic and founder of the “Illusion” cinema club, Kherson
54. Oleg Kutskiy, internationally acclaimed photo artist, Odesa
55. Carlo Ginzburg, Italian historian and microhistorian, Bologna
56. Vladislav Vodko, historian of Ukraine and lecturer in history at the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University, Odesa
57. Jeremy Musson, British author, educator and architectural historian, London
58. Eva Neymann, Ukrainian filmmaker, director of the film “Privoz,” Berlin
59. Steven J. Zipperstein, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History at Stanford University, author of The Jews of Odessa, Stanford
60. Marat Grinberg, Professor of Humanities at Reed College, author of The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf, Portland, USA
61. Tchavdar Georgiev, Odesa-born writer and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Los Angeles 
62. Pavlo Maiboroda, history teacher and founder of the “Pidpillya” free space, Odesa
63. Anna Golubovska, Ukrainian photographer, Odesa
64. Kateryna Biletina, award-winning artist, portraitist of Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, Odesa
65. Vladimir Tukmakov, Ukrainian chess Grandmaster, winner of the FIDE 100 Best Trainer Award, Odesa
66. Angelo Bucarelli, artist and art curator, Rome
67. Ekaterina Luki, curator, art consultant, GFAA Art Liaison Committee Chair, contributor to Art & Museum Magazine, Odesa, London, New York & Milan
68. Nata Golovchenko, architect, painter, head of the NG Architects Studio, Odesa
69. Alexander Kurlyand, member of the Transport Academy of Ukraine, Odesa
70. Roman Morgenstern, corresponding member of the Transport Academy of Ukraine, Odesa
71. Daniel Khalupsky, filmmaker and investment banker, New York
72. Hobart Earle, internationally acclaimed conductor, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra, People's Artist of Ukraine, Odesa
73. Philipp Christoph Schmädeke, political scientist and Director of the German Science at Risk Emergency Office, Berlin
74. Alberto Veronesi, conductor and President of the Committee for the Celebrations of Giacomo Puccini’s Centenary of the Italian Government, Milan
75. Massimo Vassallo, Italian historian, specialist in Eastern Europe and Ukrainian history, Cuneo
76. Igor Pokrovskyi, Honored Journalist of Ukraine, CEO of the TV company Mediainform, artistic director of the International Festival Odesa Golden Violins, Odesa & Vienna
77. Natalia Khokhlova-Pokrovski, journalist, Director of the TV company Mediainform, Odesa & Vienna
78. Hanna Lisova, Ukrainian stage director, Kharkiv and San Sebastian, Spain
79. Yuriy Romanenko, political commentator, broadcaster and Chief Editor of khvylya.net, Kyiv
80. Yuriy Tsurkan, artist, Odesa & Berlin
81. Michael Löffler, director of OCCAM Labs and member of Rotary Club Odessa International, Odesa
82. Katie Farris, poet, literary translator, Professor at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, Princeton
83. 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
84. Massimo Morelli, rector of the Luigi Boccherini Music Conservatory in Lucca, Lucca
85. Anna Misiyk, historian of the cultural history of Odesa at the Odesa Literary Museum, Odesa
86. Mark Naydorf, philosopher, lecturer in history and theory of culture, Odesa National Pedagogical University, Odesa
87. Olga Yarovaya, artist, member of the Ukrainian Artists’ Union, Odesa
88. Daniil Russov, documentary photographer and journalist, Member of the Kharkiv School of Photography, Kyiv
89. Matthias Schmidt, professor at the Technische Universität Dresden, University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Goerlitz and the Odesа Polytechnic National University
90. Oleg Tretyak, fine art photographer, Odesa
91. Emilien Urbano, acclaimed war photographer and filmmaker working on a frontline documentary since 2022, Kyiv & Paris
92. Yefim Aglitskiy, Odesa-born physicist, Fellow of the American Physical Society, Alexandria USA
93. Taissia Naidenko, acclaimed poet and journalist, Odesa
94. Lesya Verba, artist, bandura player, author of the History of “non Odesa” Songs songbook, Odesa & New York
95. 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
96. Arthur Zolotarevsky, CEO of the NeuroIFRAH Clinic, Director of the New York chapter of the Odesa Worldwide Club, New York
97. Kateryna Bezpalova, philologist, interpreter and Associate Professor at the Odesa National University, Odesa
98. 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
99. Mykhailo Rashkovetskyi, art historian, curator, member of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize Committee (2019-2023), Odesa
100. 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
101. Dmytro Shamatazhi, historian, architectural photographer for the Architecture of Odesa project, restorer at Thousands of Odessa doors project, Odesa
102. Borys Goloborodko, Medical Doctor, Odesa
103. Vittoria Massimiani, Slavist and Italianist, literary translator and creator and director of Italian (and bilingual Italian-French) books-editions, Paris
104. Anne Gorouben, painter, Paris
105. Isabelle Némirovski, President of the association Les Amis d’Odessa and author of Histoire, mémoires et représentations des Juifs d’Odessa, Paris
106. Janna Kiseleva, architect art director & Founder в JK Lab Architectural studio, Head of Design Council with City Hall of Odessa, Limassol & Odesa
107. Oleg Favelukis, CEO в JK Lab Architectural studio, Limassol & Odesa
108. Maryna Perepelytsia-Simonetti, Ukrainian pianist,  Director of the children's music festival "Made in Ukraine," Odesa & Freiburg im Breisgau
109. Anne Duruflé, diplomat, Paris
110. Michel Guikovaty, pianist, Paris
111. Regina Maryanovska Davidzon, filmmaker, award winning producer, co-founder of The Odessa Review, and of Real Pictures, Odesa & Paris
112. Boris Vladimirsky, Odesa-born art scholar and author of Rejoicing and Shuddering (works of Isaac Babel), San Jose
113. Stefano Della Torre, civil engineer and architect, President of the SIRA (Italian Society of Architectural Restoration), Milan
114. 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
115. Sofia Dyak, historian, director of the Center for Urban History in Lviv, Lviv
116. Edward Amchislavsky, art historian, New York
117. Kateryna Titova, distinguished Ukrainian pianist and artist in residence in Raiding, Berlin
118. Marina Kovalyov, President of the A.S.E.Global Bridges Foundation, New York
119. 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
120. Christophe Lacarin, viticulteur, member of Rotary Club Odessa International, Odesa
121. Zoya Arova, mathematician, poet, composer, writer, Rishon Le-Zion & Odesa
122. Artem Kharchenko, historian at the Center for Interethnic Relations Research in Eastern Europe, Kharkiv
123. Mykyta Abramov, artist and documentary photographer, Odesa
124. Anne Laurent, literary translator, Paris
125. Viktor Tyblevych, sculptor, Odesa
126. Olga Engibarova, photographer, Odesa
127. Olena Khanenkova, journalist, Odesa
128. Ella Leus, writer, Odesa
129. Inna Bogachinskaya, poet, journalist, translator, New York
130. Grigori Samouelian, writer & poet, New York
131. Alexander Schmidt, historian of European political thought, Jena
132. Karina Shragina-Kats, actress at the Odesa State Puppet Theatre, Odesa
133. Meelis Kubits, head of the “Cultural Partnership Foundation”, leader of the cultural diplomacy movement, and cultural relations between Odesa and Tallinn, Tallinn
134. Valentyna Goloborodko, Professor of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York
135. Nikolay Karabinovych, Odesa-born Ukrainian multimedia artist, Antwerp
136. Ihor Yakubenko, physicist, Lviv
137. Alex Sino, Odesa-born multi Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer and screenwriter, sole Ukrainian Latin Grammy Award winner, New York and Verona
138. Igor Romanov, philosopher and psychoanalyst, Associate Professor of philosophy at the Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv
139. Julian Evans, British writer and journalist reporting on Ukraine for three decades, author of Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War, London
140. Olena Shylova, psychologist and Member of the International Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy and Director of the Odesa Gestalt Institute, Odesa
141. Viktoriia Sakhnienko, psychologist and Member of the Odesa Gestalt Institute, Odesa
142. Maya Shepelyeva, Professor Emerita of philosophy at the Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa
143. Volodymyr Skalozub, lecturer in the Department of Nuclear Power Plants at the Odesa National Polytechnic University, Odesa
144. Olga Kashymbekova, film and multimedia artist and curator, Odesa
145. Roman Dubasevych, Chair of Ukrainian Studies and Head of the Institute of Slavic Studies at the University of Greifswald, Greifswald
146. Iryna Morozovskaya, psychologist, singer-songwriter and members of the Odesa “What? Where? When” team, Odesa
147. Anna Filimonova, Ukrainian journalist and host of the Kava-Chai Podcast, Bucha and Odesa
148. Aleksandr Kuperman, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of PJSC Bank Vostok, Odesa
149. Marta Havryshko, historian, Dr. Thomas Zand Visiting Assistant Professor at Clark University, Research Fellow at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Worcester (USA) and Lviv
150. Tatiana Bykadorova, Curator of the Department of Classical Antiquity at the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odesa
151. Gleb Dolianovskiy, interpreter, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv
152. Aldo Giannuli, writer, blogger, associate professor of Modern History at Milan’s University of Studies, Milan