Ukraine's Decolonization Law Threatens Odessa's Multicultural Identity

Ukraine's 2023 decolonization law mandates the removal of Russian and Soviet symbols across the country, including statues, street names, and cultural works. In Odessa, a historically multicultural port city, this has sparked controversy. Museum director Katerina Kulai oversees the storage of a statue of Catherine II, while over 100 streets have been renamed. Critics like Udo Poletti, editor of the Odessa Journal, argue the law erases the city's Greek, Italian, Armenian, Jewish, and Russian heritage. A letter to UNESCO, signed by poet Ilya Kaminsky and others, requested postponing decolonization until after the war, but UNESCO declined to intervene. Proponents like lawyer Artem Karschatov claim the law corrects historical myths and glorification of Russian culture. The law has divided the city along generational and linguistic lines, with older Russian-speaking residents opposing changes. The Pushkin Museum is closed, and statues of Isaac Babel and Anna Akhmatova may be removed. Odessa's infrastructure remains under Russian attack; the Transfiguration Cathedral was damaged in July 2023.