The Renaming of Streets and Squares in Odessa
The press service of the Odessa City Council has announced the renaming of several streets and squares where the monument «Founders of Odessa» used to be located, with the main figure being a statue of Empress Catherine II.
Dismantling of Symbols of the Russian Empire in Odessa
In the night of December 29, 2022, in Odessa, two monuments were dismantled: to the military leader Alexander Suvorov and the monument «Founders of Odessa», with the central figure being the statue of Empress Catherine II.
Both sculptural compositions were transferred to the Odessa National Art Museum for temporary safekeeping. It was noted that the four original statues, which were part of the «Founders of Odessa» composition and were made in 1900, belong to the museum fund of Ukraine. It was planned that they would be kept in the art museum’s funds, with the sculpture of Suvorov in the museum’s inner courtyard, and the sculpture of Catherine II in the facade courtyard.
In November 2023, it became known that during a rocket strike on the center of Odessa, the head of the empress monument was almost torn off. In particular, the strike was made on the city on November 5, and historian Oleksandr Babich published relevant photos of the damage received by the museum. It turned out that the box covering the figure of Catherine II was deformed by the shock wave, and her head was almost «torn off.»
