“On September 30, the widely announced rally against the renaming of streets and the dismantling of monuments, in particular to Pushkin, which fall under the law on decolonization (the Law of Ukraine “On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and Decolonization of Toponymy”) under the walls of Odesa OVA, gathered 10 people.”, — write: www.ukrinform.ua
The organizer of the picket is Leonid Shtekel, an Odessa journalist and public figure. He opposed the renaming of streets named after writers.
“A large part of Odessa was created by these people. We are against the demolition of monuments and the renaming of streets in their honor. Our task is to remind that the history of Odessa rests on these people, and the destruction of their memory is the destruction of the city. This is a crime against history,” Shtekel said.
Artem Kartashov, a member of the OVA working group on the implementation of the law on decolonization, noted that decolonization is necessary because part of society is still in the pre-war paradigm and associates the history of Odessa with the Russian version of history.
In Odesa, 10 people took part in a rally against the renaming of streets / Photo: Nina Lyashonok, Ukrinform
“A qualitative rethinking will contribute to the fact that future generations will be detached from the Russian context. Pushkin is the same Solovyov. If someone likes literature, it is not prohibited. “Mein Kampf” can be bought in the markets, Kartashov said.
As reported by Ukrinform, Odesa City Council, by order of Oleg Kiper, the head of Odesa, plans to dismantle and relocate 19 monuments containing symbols of Russian and imperial politics.
These include, in particular, a bust of Pushkin and his new work on the street of the same name, monuments to Babel, Gorky in Mark Twain Park, Vysotsky, Chkalov, Nilus, Chernyakhovsky, Posmitny, Michurin, Kosmodemyanskaya, Marinesko, Glushko, Malinovsky. The wall of the Chekists on Mechnikova Street, models of the Order of Lenin on the Tenth of April Square, the mass grave of the Red Guards on Kulykovo Field, as well as the “Alexandrian Pillar” in Shevchenko Park will also be removed.
Read also: In Odesa, activists dismantled a bas-relief of the Order of Lenin on the Square on April 10 The appeal of the mayor of the city, Gennady Trukhanov, regarding the review of the order of the head of the OVA was rejected. In order to implement this order, the OMR needs to develop technical documentation, as well as notify the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications. After agreeing on all the details, the OMR will hold a tender for the performance of dismantling works and draw up a work schedule.
Also, 84 streets were renamed in Odesa by order of the head of OVA.