Odesa celebrates its 610th birthday

Odesa is still arguing, but it is already counting the years of its existence differently. Residents and visitors are preparing for a festival dedicated to the 610th anniversary of the first written mention of Kotsiubii, the settlement that marked the beginning of Odesa's history. The focus is not only on the holiday, but also on issues of heritage, government transparency, and the publicity of deputies.

This week's focus: How old is Odesa?

In his book The First Thirty Years of Odesa's History, historian and statistician Apollo Skalkovsky<span> suggested that the city's "founder" was Empress Catherine II, who issued an order on May 27, 1794, to establish a port in the already existing Hajibey. He considered August 22, or September 2, according to the new calendar, to be the beginning of the city's chronology. </span>

<span>There is no document on the foundation of Odesa or the renaming of an existing town to Odesa.</span>

<span> Taras Honcharuk, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor at the Mechnikov National University of Odesa, is convinced that Odesa should celebrate more than 600 years. This thesis was put forward by Odesa historian Oleksandr Boldyrev in 1991. He explained that the first historical mention of the city was Kotsiubiiiv.</span>

<span>May 19, 1415, is the day of the first written mention by Polish historian Jan Długosz of the port of Kochubiyiv, which existed on the site of modern Odesa. His 12-volume work in Latin, History of Poland, was written in the mid-15th century and published in 1614.</span>

<span>The festival, titled "Odesa 610," will last five days in the city: from May 17 to 21 in the exhibition space of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine on Torgovaya Street.</span>

<span>Last year, an exhibition of paintings by Odesa artists dedicated to the history of the city and paintings created to mark the 600th anniversary of the first written mention of Kochubiy, which later became Khadzhibey and was renamed Odesa by Catherine II, was held at the Odesa Literary Museum on May 18 and 19.</span>

An extraordinary session of the Odesa City Council

Photo: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh

There were four issues on the agenda:

• On amendments to the City Target Program "Unbreakable Odesa" for 2024-2026, approved by the decision of the Odesa City Council of April 24, 2024, No. 2021-VIII.
• On amendments to the decision of the Odesa City Council of December 04, 2024 No. 2578-VIII "On the Budget of the Odesa City Territorial Community for 2025".
• On authorizing the Municipal Enterprise "Heat Supply of Odesa" to perform the functions of the customer for the construction of communal property of the territorial community of Odesa, transferred to it on behalf of the Odesa City Council.
• On amendments to the City Target Program "Barrier-Free Odesa" for 2023-2025, approved by the decision of the Odesa City Council dated May 03, 2023 No. 1142-VIII.

The event went off without a hitch, and all four items were approved. The discussion of the item on barrier-free Odesa took the most time. In the absence of Olena Kitayska, Gennadiy Trukhanov allowed himself to publicize the topic to his heart's content.

The analysis of the declarations continues

Andriy Rozov. Photo: Odesa City Council

• Experts of the all-Ukrainian public campaign"Certification of Local Council Deputies" analyzed the declarations of the deputies of the Odesa City Council for 2021-2024.
• According to the data from the Unified State Register of Declarations, in 2024, deputies and their family members declared UAH 1 billion in cash, and another UAH 129.9 million in bank accounts.
• The absolute leader in terms of income was the family of Vadym Morokhovsky: UAH 97.8 million. The MP himself declared UAH 49.3 million in salary as the chairman of the board of Bank Vostok PJSC, UAH 10.5 million in interest and UAH 3.9 million in fees. His wife also receives income in Ukraine and dividends from a company in Estonia.
• The second place goes to Petro Obukhov, who declared UAH 23.7 million, including UAH 10.2 million in dividends from Druzhba Narodiv AIC.

Infographic: "Certification of local council members"

The top five also includes:

• Yuriy Schumacher and his family declared income of UAH 18.1 million for 2024. A significant portion of this amount - UAH 8.2 million - was made up of income from the MP's business activities, as well as his salary in private companies, such as the Trade and Distribution Company S and S and Rostdorstroy LLC. His wife's income was also generated through business activities.
• Oleksiy Potapsky 's family declared UAH 17.7 million in income for 2024. Of this amount, UAH 5.8 million came from the MP's business activities, and another UAH 10.1 million in the form of dividends from the Druzhba Narodiv agricultural company. In addition, his wife received UAH 1.2 million as a cash gift. Her income also includes income from independent professional activities and the sale of movable property.
• The family of Andriy Kislovskyi, who ranked fifth in terms of income, declared UAH 15.9 million. The main source of the family's income is entrepreneurial activity. The MP received salaries from Nerum LLC and NEMO Dolphinarium LLC.
• The family of Volodymyr Ivanov, as well as MPs Zhukov, Kornienko, and Sautenkov, who did not declare a single hryvnia of income, are among the "zero" MPs.
• MP Nikita Avdeev stands out, as he first filed a declaration with 2 hryvnias of income, and later submitted a corrected declaration with 8.9 million hryvnias received from energy-related companies.
• On May 16, it became known that the declaration of Andriy Rozov , Director of the Economic Development Department of the Odesa City Council, contained inaccurate data worth UAH 6.2 million. The NACP checked the official's declaration for 2022 and concluded that Rozov did not indicate property worth this amount in the document.

A large flag of Ukraine unfurled in Odesa on World Vyshyvanka Day

Photo: Intent/Oleksiy Kravchuk

• On May 15, residents of Odesa dressed in embroidered shirts and dresses and took to the streets to celebrate Vyshyvanka Day, which is celebrated annually on the third Thursday of May.
• According to an Intent correspondent, about a hundred people gathered on European Square, where they organized a photo shoot in national costumes. After that, the participants set off on a march. Their route ran from European Square to the Duke monument, then along Primorsky Boulevard to the city council building. Then the participants went up to the Opera House and walked down Evropeiska and Deribasovska streets. There they took more pictures and later received a large Ukrainian flag, which they unfurled and carried down Deribasivska Street to the City Garden.

Ігор Льов