The director of the Odessa Museum of History and Local Lore has died

Yuriy Slyusar, director of the Odessa Museum of History and Local Lore and a researcher, died on July 8.

This was reported by the museum’s press office.

“He devoted more than 30 years of his life to museum work, working selflessly to preserve the history and cultural heritage of Odesa and the Black Sea region,” the museum emphasized. 

Yuriy Slyusar was also a member of the board of the Odesa Regional Organization of the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments and a member of the city’s historical and toponymic commission. He had headed the museum since October 2024, when Vira Solodova stepped down from the position. 

The Odessa Museum of History and Local Lore is located in the center of Odessa on Havanna Street. The building that houses the museum was constructed in 1876 according to a design by architect F. Gonsiorovsky for Alexander Yakovlevich Novikov, a representative of the industrial and commercial elite. The building’s architecture is in the Neoclassical style, with elements of the late Renaissance. On May 6, 1956, the Odessa State Museum of History and Local Lore was opened to the public. The museum’s exhibition includes documents, publications, works of art, numismatic collections, weapons from the 17th–19th centuries, and other items related to the history of the city and the region.

Also, Valentina Dovzhenko, an honorary resident of the town of Bilyayivka in the Odesa region, passed away on June 15 at the age of 84. Valentina Dovzhenko served as a deputy of the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) for 14 years. She served across three sessions—the 8th through the 20th—from 1971 to 1985. 

Earlier, artist,cartoonist, and computer graphics expertYevgen Larionov, who returned to Odesa from Europe in 2024, died on June 1 at 7:55 p.m. 

 Earlier,Leonid Kondratyuk, an Honored Doctor of Ukraine,anhonorarycitizenof the city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in the Odesa region, and a deputy for five terms, died on the morning of May 25.

The oldest resident of Kiliya in the Odesa region,poetNina Chernobikina, died on April 18 at the age of 104.

Кирило Бойко