Reviving Historical Street Names to Strengthen Odesa's Ukrainian Identity

The return of historical names to streets is an important step in rethinking the past and strengthening the Ukrainian identity of Odesa.

This opinion was expressed by Natalia Mykhailenko, who currently photographs actions in honor of prisoners of war and missing persons and was previously an organizer of Megamarshes and director of the Odesa Regional Center for Patriotic Education, to Intent.

"I really like decolonization, decommunization - it's all necessary during the war. I like that I already live on Karavanska Street. That we have Strukata and Mykhailenko streets," she said.

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The activist also emphasized that the myths about "Russian Odesa" are nothing but propaganda.

"I like the fact that finally Odessans have begun to realize that Russian propaganda in Odesa, that the 'Russian city' is not true at all," she emphasized.

At the same time, Mykhailenko expressed concern that some people still want to see Russian influence in the city.

"Of course, I am concerned about some people who still want to see Russia here. I really don't like it. But I believe that Odesa is a full-fledged part of Ukraine," the photographer emphasized.

She also shared her hopes for the future of Ukraine after the victory.

"I am sure that after the victory, Ukraine will become such an oasis of Europeanness and prosperity. It will not happen immediately, but it will happen. We will be helped, and we will just be a flower. I am sure that people will come back to us, and everything will be fine. We deserve it. We've already earned it," Mykhailenko said.

According to her, many of those who fought for Ukrainian Odesa underwent severe trials, which also affected their health.

"After the Maidan, I have been living under stress all the time. And in fact, after that, I realized how my health started to crumble a little bit. And all of us, those who have always fought for Ukrainian Odesa, unfortunately, we suffered terribly from all this," the photographer summarized.

Recently, in an interview with Intent, Armed Forces veteran and veterinarian Oleksiy Prytula spoke about his experience of undergoing a preliminary medical examination in Lviv and an MSEC in Odesa.

Ірина Глухова