The Ministry of Culture has paved the way for the dismantling of the Kotovsky Mausoleum in the Odesa region

The burial vault of Soviet military officer Grigory Kotovsky in Podilsk, Odesa Oblast, has been removed from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. 

This was reported by the organization “Decolonization. Ukraine.”

Activists published a letter from the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. It was signed by First Deputy Minister Ivan Verbytskyi. The response was addressed to civic activist Vadym Pozdnyakov.

In the letter, the ministry stated that, by Order No. 888 dated August 10, 2026, Kotovsky’s crypt was removed from the register of monuments.

PHOTO: Screenshot of the Ministry of Culture’s letter

This refers to the crypt in Kotovsky Park in the city of Kotovsk. Today, this park in Podilsk is named after Taras Shevchenko.

The organization believes that the crypt can now be dismantled.

Kotovsky’s mausoleum in Podilsk, Odesa Oblast, has been removed from the register. Now it can finally be dismantled, the organization emphasized.

Grigory Kotovsky’s mausoleum was built in 1925 following his death. The structure was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1965. For a long time, Kotovsky’s remains were kept in a makeshift mausoleum.

Podilsk is a city in the north of the Odesa region, near the border with Moldova. Until 2016, it was called Kotovsk—in honor of Grigory Kotovsky. After being renamed, the city became known as Podilsk. Today, it is an important railway and transportation hub in the Odesa region.

Previously, the Podilsk City Council decided to reburial Kotovsky’s remains with full military honors.

Ірина Глухова