UNESCO comments on letter from cultural figures on changing names and demolishing monuments in Odesa
UNESCO plans to consider the appeal of Ukrainian cultural figures regarding the decolonisation of place names and monuments in Odesa in the summer of 2025. This was reported by LB.ua on 31 October, citing a response from the UN organisation.
The letter sent to the publication states that Ukraine, as a UNESCO member state, is responsible for the ‘effective and sustainable management and protection’ of sites on the World Heritage List. This also applies to the historical heritage of Odesa.
The document states that it is necessary to prevent any changes that may affect the reasons why the international community has granted the site World Heritage status.
UNESCO reported that after receiving requests from third parties to alter or relocate cultural sites in Odesa, where the World Heritage site is located, the organisation cooperates with the relevant national authorities to collect detailed information and comments. Once analysed, this information will be presented to the World Heritage Committee (the governing body of the UNESCO Convention, consisting of 21 elected Member States) during the next inspection of the state of conservation of the property. This inspection is scheduled for July 2025 as part of the 47th session of the Committee.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukraine has been undergoing active decommunisation and de-Russification, including the renaming of streets and the removal of monuments. In September 2023, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine initiated the acceleration of the dismantling of some monuments to Russian and Soviet figures, including Pushkin.
On 10 November, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine removed from the State Register of Immovable Monuments a number of cultural heritage sites of national importance associated with the communist totalitarian regime or Russian imperial policy, paving the way for their dismantling. According to the Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution No. 1186, these objects include the monument to Pushkin on Primorskaya Street in Odesa.
On 13 November, the Historical and Toponymic Commission of Odesa decided to preserve the Pushkin monument in front of the city hall on Prymorskyi Boulevard, recognising it as ‘of exceptional artistic value’ and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On 19 September 2024, the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Oleh Kiper, announced that the Pushkin monument would be dismantled from Prymorskyi Boulevard. However, the city council noted that this required a response from UNESCO, as the monument is located in the heritage protection zone.
On 23 October, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio published a letter signed by 115 Ukrainian and foreign cultural figures calling on UNESCO to appeal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop the ‘dismantling of Odesa’s cultural heritage’.
