“City identity under threat”: British journalists claim forced Ukrainization of Odesa

Ukrainian politicians are struggling to “Ukrainianize” Odesa and fit it into their law on decolonization.

This is the focus of an article in the British magazine The Economist, titled “Canceling Culture in Ukraine.”

The publication specifically mentions attempts to dismantle the monument to Alexander Pushkin in Odesa.

“This is the city where he began writing his masterpiece *Eugene Onegin*. His monument, like the statue of Duke de Richelieu, was funded by Odesa residents,” the article states.

The Economist highlights that at the beginning of 2023, using an emergency procedure, UNESCO recognized Odesa’s historic center as a site of unique value—a “polyphonic city” built by Italian architects, governed by French and Spanish subjects of the Russian Empire, and home to representatives of around 130 nationalities.

“Today, while the city is regularly targeted by Russian drones and missiles, Odesa’s identity, its polyphony, and its freedom face a subtler threat. This threat comes from Ukraine’s own officials and a small but aggressive and vocal group of activists who have latched onto a vaguely formulated law on Ukraine’s decolonization. The law mandates the ‘elimination of symbols of Russian imperial policy to protect Ukraine’s cultural and informational space.’ Pushkin’s monument is in their crosshairs,” the article notes.

“Today, Ukrainian politicians are striving to Ukrainianize Odesa (spelling it with a single ‘s’ in Ukrainian) and make it fit into their decolonization framework. The head of the regional military administration, Oleh Kiper, does not appear to concern himself with such nuances. A former prosecutor who served under Viktor Yanukovych as an unelected bureaucrat, Kiper is focused on following orders, not on what Odesa’s residents think. Thus, in July 2024, he ordered the complete removal of city statues and the renaming of streets, sparking a cultural war tearing the city apart,” the article continues.

Moreover, The Economist discusses efforts to ban the Russian language in public spaces.

“The Russian language must be eliminated from public spaces. Everything associated with Russia, our main enemy, must be erased. No negotiations or compromises,” declared activist Musiyenko.

However, as Odesa writer Maya Dimerli points out, the Russian language is not only the language of the aggressor but also the language of the victim—Odesa’s residents. And now, victims are being shamed for the actions of the aggressor.

“The result of this derussification has been fear and polarization. What was once marginal is now becoming mainstream. On the boulevard, people avert their eyes when asked about the monuments.

‘Fear of speaking is being replaced by fear of thinking,’ says Odesa native Anastasia Pilyavska, an anthropologist at King’s College London.

Criminal cases against ‘collaborators’ clearly show that the threat of being labeled a supporter of Russia is real,” the article notes.

The article was published in The Economist’s Christmas issue and is reflected on the magazine’s cover, where Pushkin’s bust is depicted in an aquarium.

Notably, in early December, Odesa’s City Council unanimously supported the dismantling of Pushkin’s monument, which is under UNESCO protection.