Activists Demand Dismantling of Pushkin Monument in Odesa Amid Controversy

Activists of the public organization "We Make You Nerves" staged a performance on the bust of Alexander Pushkin, located on Primorsky Boulevard in the center of Odesa.

According to the head of the organization, Kateryna Musienko, the activists made it known that the poet himself wanted to celebrate Easter in the museum.

A rope noose was thrown around the bust's neck, and an announcement was attached to the pedestal about finding a bulldozer to dismantle it.

"The history of the occupation by the Moscow Empire and later by the Soviet Union should be studied in textbooks and museum exhibitions. Monuments of the colonial past have no place on the streets of a Ukrainian city. The city council has an order to demolish Pushkin, but it carefully ignores its responsibilities. Moreover, it is renovating the facade and planting flower beds near the monument to the Moscow figure," the activists were outraged.

The action took place in the context of a conflict because passers-by were outraged by the actions of the activists, and they, in turn, advised those dissatisfied with their actions to go to Russia.

The day before, unidentified persons had vandalized a monument to Soviet Marshal Rodion Malinowski, located at the corner of Preobrazhenska and Sofiivska streets.

In September 2024, Odesa signed an order to dismantle the monument to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, which is located on Prymorskyi Boulevard in front of the city hall.

Before and after the full-scale invasion, Odesa residents and activists called on local authorities to demolish the monument, considering it a symbol of Russian occupation. However, the city authorities rejected these demands.

For example, Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov stated that he did not support the dismantling of the Pushkin monument. At the time, the mayor argued that the monument could not be demolished because it was listed on the UNESCO register.

In 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine removed from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Cultural Heritage of National Significance the monuments to poet Alexander Pushkin in Odesa, Prince Vorontsov in Odesa, and Commander Suvorov in Izmail.

However, at a meeting in November, the Historical and Toponymic Commission of the Executive Committee of the Odesa City Council recommended that the monuments to poet Alexander Pushkin and Prince Mikhail Vorontsov remain in place.

Earlier, a representative of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory , Oleksandr Horodylov , said

On the air of Intent.Insight , an employee of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance , Oleksandr Horodylov , expressed his opinion on the dismantling of monuments to representatives of the Russian Empire.

Кирило Бойко