Professional Documents
Culture Documents
8.2 Notes
Between the first millenium BC and the 1st century AD the following groups inhabited the
steppes along the Black Sea coast:
[edit]
6th century BC
Greek colonists began to colonize the Odessa area around 6th century BC. The Greeks migrated
because their homeland's soil was thin and rocky, not suited to raising grain or pasturing animals,
yet their population was booming. Some of the Greek poleis (independent city-states) drained
away their populations through colonization. These colonizes then became centers which food
could be returned to the Greek homeland. This was especially true of the foundations on the
Black Sea shores that are today part of Odessa.
One of the most important Black Sea towns of the period was Olvia, on the Southern Buh River
(31 miles (50 kilometers) north of Odessa) and the large trade center Tyras (31 miles (50
kilometers) southwest of Odessa at the site of present day Belgorod-Dniestrovsky). The distance
between the two cities was 62 miles (100 kilometers), so an intermediate landing site was set up
were present Odessa is today. Recently, near the children's palace, archaeologists found traces of
this ancient Greek settlement.
[edit]
13th century
In 1206 the tribes of Mongolia united under Genghis Khan to form the most formidable military
force of the Middle Ages. The first casualty was northern China, followed by an invasion of
Central Asia and Russia. Next the Mongols ravaged Ukraine. The resistance to the invasion was
greatly weakened by the lack of any solidarity between the Kieven Rus principalities. So many
of the Slavic people ended up in captivity that the name Slav, which originally meant "glorious,"
became the root for the English word "slave."
The Mongols withdrew to the East after receiving heavy resistance from the Bulgars. In their
withdrawal their great leader Genghis Khan died.
They returned to Europe in 1236, conquering the Russian cities of Ryazan, Moscow, Vladimir,
Polovtsy, and Kiev. In 1237 they then enacted there revenge on the resistant Bulgars, destroying
their country. The Mongol-Tartar then invaded central Europe in 1241 AD, defeating the
combined armies of Germany, Poland and Bohemia in one decisive battle. The Mongolian leader
Batu set up a new base of command in Hungary, but before ravaging Europe further, he received
news that his uncle, the Great Khan Ugedey, had died in Mongolia. Since Batu was a candidate
for Genghis Khan's throne, he called off his invasion and returned to Mongolia, sparing the rest
of Europe from complete destruction.
The Mongol rule left the area devistated, but in some areas some of the original Slav population
survived. During this time a site called Jinestra was marked on sea charts, located were present
day Odessa is today.
Jinestra, Gabjbey, Hadjibei, Kachuklenov, Khadjibey, Kadjibi Bay , Khadjibei, Kotzuby, YenyDunya (New World) Fort
Confusingly, all of these names were used for the area that later became Odessa. This long list of
names shows how many nationalities throughout the millenium have controlled the Odessa area.
[edit]
14th Century
In the mid 1300's, Lithuanian princess increased their takeover of eastern principalities of Kyiv
Rus', from 1360 to mid 1400's the Odessa region was ruled by the Lithuanian Kingdom.
During the 14th century and into the beginning of the 15th century, feudal strife led to the
division of Kievan Rus into smaller principalities. The northwest coast of the Black Sea began to
be settled by Ukrainians and Russians. One of settlements Khadjzibey, is located were present
day Odessa is today.
The first mention of this site dates back to 1415 when Polish king Vladislav the second send corn
from Khadjzibey to Constantinople. The exact foundation date and even the exact name of this
settlement is unclear. Even at this time, Odessa was an important trade center. Grain, fish and salt
from many regions of Ukraine were shipped from this site.
[edit]
15th Century
In the mid-15th century the Crimean Tartars won independence for a short time from the Polish
and Lithuanian empires.
In 1475 the Ottoman Empire captured Crimea and the northern Black Sea area. Khadjzibey was
destroyed, and only the ruins of a castle are shown on geographical maps in the 16th and 17th
centuries. The capture of the Black Sea meant that Russia was cut off from the Black Sea for
decades.
[edit]
18th century
The Ottoman Turks fortified many existing fortresses including the Belgorod Dnestrovsky
fortress, which still stands today. The Ottoman Turks also built a fort in 1764, named YenyDunya (New World), on the rugged cliffs of the Kadjibi Bay (today the Bay of Odessa), were
present day Primorsky Boulevard is today. The fortress had had high walls with round towers
and was situated from the Potemkin stairs up to the Children's Palace. The Kadjibi Bay fortress
only stood for a quarter of a century.
Between 1768 and 1791 the Russian Empire fought the Ottoman Empire for control of
Ukrainian territories. Russia wanted an outlet to the Black Sea and a return of the northern coast
which had been captured by the Ottoman empire in the 15th century.
Russia invaded in 1768-1774. In 1770 the Russian fleet destroyed the Turkish fleet in the Black
Sea. In the summer of 1773 ships successfully attacked Turkish transport vessels three times.
Russian seamen burnt nine transport ships and took one of them captive. The Turks were now
unable to re-supply their garrisons by sea. The following year the Turks, having assembled their
forces to break through to the Sea of Azov, were confronted by the Russian forces. Numerical
superiority in vessels and guns did not help the Turkish seamen, and after heavy defeats on land
and sea the Turks surrendered. On 10 July the war ended with the signing of the KuchukKaynardji Peace Treaty. Under the 1774 peace treaty, Russia received an outlet to the Black Sea
through the area between the Dniester and the Southern Buh.
Turkey attempted to regain this territory that was lost in the earlier war, resulting in the 17891791 war.
On September 14, 1789, during the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, the Kadjibi Bay fortress
was seized by Iosiph Mickailovich De Ribas. The Russian army continued to the Dniester and
Danube rivers, and the Kadjibi Bay became an important rear shipping point for ammunition and
supplies for the Russian army. By December 1790 the Izmail fortress had been seized by
Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov's forces, completing the Northern Black Sea area conquest of the
Turks.
At the end of the war, Ottoman Turks signed a treaty consolidating Russian hold on the Crimea
and much of the Northern Black Sea.
[edit]
In 1794 Katherine the Great formed the conquered Turkish territories into a province called
Novorossiya (New Russia). With this new province, Russia immediately founded many new
towns and ports to consolidate its control of Southern Ukraine. This included building the cities
Kherson (1778), Nikolayev (1789), and Tiraspol (1793). A fortress was also built at the port of
Khadjibey (modern day Odessa).
The new fortress, built in 1793, was designed to defend the town from enemies approaching
from the sea. It was built near the ruins of the former Kadjibi Bay fortress. Situated high over the
coastal cliff it was star shaped with five bastions, and was surrounded by a moat and earthen
mounds. It covered only a small area of about 20 hectares (49 acres). The new garrison had 2,000
men with 120 cannons. (Later the fortress lost its military significance and was turned into a
medical quarantine. Only one wall and a tower still exists from the fort, see page **)
Field Marshall Alexander Suvorov took an active part in the development of the fort and Odessa.
He clearly understood that it was essential to erect a quick fortress and port to discourage future
Turkish attacks. Suvorov also supervised the building of a fortress in Kherson.
Katherine the Great apparently considered making a port of Ochakov, near the mouth of the Buh
river, the effective capital of Novorossiya. But Ochakov lacked a good natural harbor. De Ribas
and his close collaborator, a Dutch engineer named Franz De Volan, Recommended Khadjibei as
the site for the region's principal port. The group also oversaw the building of the fortifications in
Ovidiopol and Tiraspol.
Suvorov also campaigned vigorously for a harbor and town to also be built in Khadjibei.
Khadjibei's harbor was deep and nearly ice-free. Breakwaters, on the model of those found at
Naples, Livorno and Ancona, could be cheaply constructed and would render the harbor safe
even for large fleets. The Governor General of Novorossiya, Prince Platon Zubov - one of
Katherine's favorites - gave decisive support to the latter proposal.
On May 27, 1794 Katherine the Second gave the following order: "Taking into account the
favorable position. of Khadjibei on the Black Sea and the possible profit connected with it, we
declare it necessary to build a military harbor and merchants pier."
She immediately sent twenty-six thousand rubles to De Ribas and De Volan to build a harbor. On
September 2nd, 1794, the first piles of the port were sunk. This is considered Odessa's birthday.
The plan was to build the city and port with three harbors in five years. The work was carried out
at a frantic pace, even continuing throughout the winter.
In the beginning the new settlement was called Khadjibei, but from the beginning of 1795 the
name Odessa can be found in official documents.
There are many legends about the origin of the name Odessa, including that Katherine the Great
made the decree herself, stating "Let Khadjibei bear the Greek name, but in the feminine gender,
let it be known as Odessa."
Another legend says that the city was named after an ancient Greek colony, Odessos, in present
day Varna, Bulgaria that mistakenly was thought to be at the site of Odessa. The name Odessos
means "great trade way", a very fitting name for Odessa.
Like modern Odessites, the new inhabitants of Odessa could not part with the old name and the
name "Khadjibei" remained for several years.
[edit]
Odessa Mama
Odessa has many nicknames, including "Riviera of Russia", the "Pearl of the Black Sea",
"Odessa Mama", "Window on Europe" for Russians, "Window on Russia" for foreigners,
"Southern Palmyria" and "the Southern gates" Duke Armand Emmanual Richelieu called his
beloved city "the best pearl in the imperial crown".
The town was well planned, built with straight wide streets (the main thoroughfares are 30
meters wide) and taking into account the relief of the terrain.
The new town grew rapidly. Within the first two years there were already 1200 different
buildings. By 1795 the population was 2349 residents. A census showed that there were:
Bulgarians in Odessa
19th century
[edit]
Plague of 1812
Main page: Plague hill "Chumka"
In 1812 a plague from the Middle East struck more than 4,000 people, about one fifth of the
population. The dead were buried on a hill called "Chumka"
[edit]
This free port made Odessa the number one port in wheat trade and import in all of Europe in the
first half of the 19th century. But an unintended consequence of the law was it encouraged many
illegal imports of cheap foreign goods, which moved illegally through Odessa into interior
regions of the country.
This free trade port law existed until 1859.
[edit]
1850
Turemnaja Place
Photo from between 1890 and 1900, now available at the Library of Congress, Originally from
the from the Detroit Publishing Company 1905.
Odessa suffered bombing from an English and French squadron. (For more about the Crimean
War, see Crimean war cannon)
The beginning of the revolution in the 1870's Decades of Czarist oppression helped form
revolutionary movements throughout Russia.
In the country Peasants were oppressed by their landlords with little civil rights including the
right to purchase land.
In the cities industrial workers living conditions were poor. The average industrial employee
worked 11 hours a day, six days a week. Conditions in the factories were incredibly harsh. Little
concern was shown to the workers safety and health.
Neither group had any significant political or economical power.
In the 1870's, Odessa began its first factory strikes and the first union groups were formed.
Illegal printing shops were established throughout Russia, including Odessa, distributing antiCzar and revolutionary material.
In 1873 the water way from the Dniester River was opened. In 1877 Odessa became the first city
in the Russian Empire with a modern sewage system.
[edit]
1900
By 1900 Odessa had the lowest number of people of Ukrainian decent of any other large
Ukrainian city. Thirty three percent of the population were Jewish and a large minority were also
Russian.
[edit]
Bloody Sunday
In 1904 inflation caused prices of basic goods to climb so rapidly that real wages throughout
Russia declined by 20 per cent.
In response to the poor working conditions and rising inflation, workers attempted to organize
unions. The factory owners bitterly opposed these unions. In 1903 Father Georgi Gapon, a St.
Petersburg priest organized the "Assembly of Russian Workers". When four members of the
Assembly of Russian Workers were fired at the Putilov Iron Works, Gapon called for industrial
strikes. Over 110,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike.
In an attempt to settle the dispute, Georgi Gapon decided to make a personal appeal to Nicholas
II. He drew up a petition outlining the workers' sufferings and demands. These demands included
an eight-hour workday, improved working conditions, wage increases, and an end to the
unpopular Russo-Japanese War.
When the procession of workers reached the Winter Palace, it was fired upon by the police. Over
100 workers were killed and 300 wounded. The incident, known as Bloody Sunday, was the
tinderbox that started the 1905 Revolution. Strikes took place throughout the country. Middleclass workers established the "Union of Unions" demanding a constituent assembly. Universities
closed when entire student bodies staged walkouts.
[edit]
1905 revolution
In response to bloody Sunday, the Odessa revolutionaries distributed leaflets calling for the
overthrow of the government.
By May 1905, 1/3 of the city's workers were on strike.
For revolutionary events of the summer of 1905, including the Battleship Potemkin mutiny, refer
to the Potemkin sailor monument.
In September and October of 1905 Odessa joined the rest of Russian by having university rallies,
strikes, and demonstrations.
On October 14, 1905 high school students boycotted classes to support striking railway workers.
Police brutally broke up the protest, injuring several students.
In response, on October 16 students and workers took to the streets of Odessa. They built
barricades and fought the police and military with rocks and guns. Military and police became
targets of snipers. The authorities responded by opening fire on the protestors. By evening the
authorities had control of Odessa streets.
The next day, October 17, the military continued to patrol the city. Schools and many businesses
remained closed. At least 4,000 workers went on strike. Workers congregated outside stores that
were still open for business, singing songs and drinking vodka.
This same day, in the Russian capital, the October Manifesto was signed by Czar Nicholas II.
The manifesto granted freedom of speech and association. It also promised that people would not
be imprisoned without trial. Finally it promised that no law would become operative without the
approval of the State Duma. The Czar, however, reserved himself the right to dismiss the Duma,
thus its influence on the situation of the country remained rather minute.
On October 18 news of the October Manifesto was announced to the general population and
thousands of people crowded the streets in celebration. The crowd carried red flags and banners
with anti-government slogans. Apartments draped red carpets and shawls from their balconies
and windows. Drunk demonstrators forced passersby to take of their hats before the flags. In the
mayors office / city council building, demonstrators ripped down the portrait of the Czar and
substituted a red flag. In the fighting two policemen were killed and ten wounded. By the
evening the disturbances were once again suppressed and the police took control of the streets.
October 19th saw demonstrations of a different sort. Groups of people loyal to the Czar began to
march, singing the national anthem and religious hymns. The group stopped at the city council
building and tore down the red flag, replacing it with the original flag. During the procession, a
sniper shot and killed a young boy carrying a religious icon. Other shots ran out and the crowd
quickly dispersed, fleeing in all directions. Revolutionaries organized by students threw
homemade bombs and shot at the pro-Czarist demonstrators throughout the city.
The large majority of these revolutionaries were Jewish. Odessa was the fourth largest city in the
Russian Empire by century's end, with a Jewish population of approximately 138,000, or 33%, in
a city with 403,000 inhabitants. After the confrontation on the October 19th, Odessites blamed
Jews and began attacking their Jewish neighbors.
The fighting continued until October 22, 1905. It enveloped the entire city and the bloody spread
from the central streets to the outlying districts, primarily Moldovanka, which had a large and
impoverished poor Jewish population.
For three days and nights the crowds, which included inhabitants of the surrounding villages,
robbed shops, destroyed houses, tortured and killed Jews with knives, daggers and firearms.
Bursting with rage, and spurred on by the knowledge that they were assured impunity, the thugs
did not spare women, the elderly, or children. Between 400-800 Jews were killed, from Isser
Zeltzer, aged one and a half to 85 year-old Shimon Tsmelzon.
Several thousand Jews managed to escape from the to the huge yard of the city's oldest Jewish
hospital (32 Myasoedovskaya Street ()), which was surrounded by solid stone
buildings. The wounded were also brought to the hospital for treatment. This fighting continued
until the October 22nd, when the military reluctantly interceded and stopped the fighting.
Fighters from the Jewish self-defense groups displayed great courage in rescuing people often at
risk to their own lives. In most cases when the self-defense groups appeared the mob would
scatter, but when troops and police arrived they would return and continue with their pillaging.
Invaluable assistance in rescuing Jews was provided by voluntary medical groups that included
university students and marine college cadets and, it is important to note, often contained nonJewish citizens of Odessa.
Similarly, there were people of various nationalities among the doctors from the ambulance
station, who went to the areas affected by the pogroms under rain of fire, giving first aid to the
wounded and transporting them to the hospitals. Documents show that among the doctors who
helped the wounded was the founder of the ambulance station, Dr. Yakov Bardach, whose fame
spread far beyond the city.
These attacks caused nearly 13% of the population to flee from Odessa in the following months.
The mirror of this site can be found on this site here. This site has a "virtual tour" of
Jewish historical events in Odessa.
[edit]
1918-1920 Revolution
The Cheka ( - ) was the first of many Soviet secret police
organizations, created by decree on December 20, 1917 by Vladimir Lenin and led by Felix
Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. During the revolution the Cheka quickly succeeded in destroying
any remaining counter revolutionary groups.
Even at a time when the Soviet regime was fighting for its survival during the civil war, many of
its own supporters were sickened by the scale of the Cheka's brutality. A number of Cheka
interrogators, some only in their teens, employed tortures of scarcely believable babarity. In
Odessa, captured White officers were tied to planks and fed slowly into furnaces.2
In August 1919 troops of nationalist white guards, led by the hated General Denikin siezed the
city.
On February 7th, 1920 G. Kotovsky, a Soviet revolutionary leader of a cavalry brigade, entered
the city from the north, and with help of revolutionaries within the city, he crushed the whites,
ending the Soviet revolution in Odessa.
[edit]
1920-1941 Rebuilding
In the winter of 1920-1921 there was a mass uprising of Ukrainian peasants against the Soviets
and new agricultural policies.
Odessa suffered greatly from the 1921 famine after the Soviet revolution, the result of a largescale drought. The harvest of 1921 in most regions of Ukraine was enough to stop the famine,
but the Soviets required that the supply of food to industrial centers of Russia not be changed.
Lenin was not disturbed by the famine in Ukraine, but by the conditions in Moscow and other
cities. Cargo of food from the American Administration of Aid (APA), went to Russia but was
not sent to Ukraine.
After three years of civil war, 95% of the merchant fleet had either been sunk or stolen and 1/3 of
the houses had been destroyed, but by 1928 the port had surpassed its 1913 industrial output.
By 1939 the population had reached 600,000.
By 1940 the industrial output was eight times what it had been in 1913. In all areas, from
education, health care, to manufacturing, Odessa had blossomed.
[edit]
1941-1944
Odessa, 1941-1944: A Case Study of Soviet
Territory Under Foreign Rule by Alexander
Dallin. Iai-Oxford-Portland: Center for
Romanian Studies, 1998 (hardcover, ISBN:
9739839118).
Full book available online
Review of the book
[edit]
Retreat
October 1st - October 16th, 1941
By the autumn of 1941, the Nazis were advancing on Moscow and Leningrad, had captured
Kiev, and had invaded the Donets coalfields and Crimean peninsula. Because of the threat to the
Crimea, the USSR decided to evacuate from Odessa on September 30.
The evacuation took place from October 1st to October 16th. During this time the Soviets
attempted to shroud the evacuation. Major counterstrikes were launched, rumors were spread
about redeployment of forces, and trenches were created giving the appearance that the city was
preparing for a winter siege. The Nazis believed this ploy. 86,000 army members and 15,000
civilians were evacuated to Crimea. These divisions in Sevastopol held out against the Nazis for
250 days.
Old fishermen today say that when the last caravan sailed out of Odessa, it was accompanied by
a vast amount of seagulls. They too left Odessa.
During the 73 day long siege of Odessa, over 160,000 Nazi troops were killed, almost 200
aircraft were shot down, and a hundred tanks were destroyed. The resistance in Odessa had
slowed down Hitler's advance on Russia.
[edit]
Occupation
In the evening of October 16th, 1941 the Nazi's entered Odessa. Immediately they issued
marshal law. Citizens were forbidden to leave there homes without special passes, a night curfew
was imposed, they were forbidden from keeping Soviet propaganda books, and they were not
allowed to sing Russian or Ukrainian songs.
Gallows were set up on the squares, and thousands of people, mostly Jews, were deported to
concentration camps in the region. During occupation it was under Romanian administration as
the capital of Tranistra.
Several partisan groups formed to resist the Nazi occupation.
[edit]
Liberation of Odessa
April 10th, 1944
On March 24th, 1944, Marshal Rodion Malinovsky commander of the 3rd Ukrainian front,
began to attack the city.
The Soviets knew that the Nazis were trapped and had know were to retreat, and that they had
mined all of the most prominent schools, hospitals, theaters, factories, and port installations. The
Soviets decided to seize the city with no preliminary artillery shelling and without air
bombardment.
The partisans assisted in this attack, and destroyed the groups sent out to blow up the city. The
partisans also stopped the Nazis from blowing up the damn across the Khadjibey Liman. This
saved a significant part of the city. The partisans stopped the Nazis from blowing up the port,
Scientists club, science library, opera theater and other buildings. The partisans also cut off roads
of retreat for the fleeing Nazis.
By April 10th, 1944 Odessa had been liberated.
The rapid advance of Malinovsky's troops and the help of the partisans had stopped many of the
Nazis plans to destroy the city. But many other structures had been badly damaged or destroyed:
the port, many factories, the train station, homes, schools, libraries, the water works and power
station. The Nazis stole all of the trolley cars and 127 tramcars. The Odessa fleet had lost 75% of
its cargo ships and passenger liners.
More than a quarter of a million people, 280,000 Odessites (mostly Jews) were killed during the
occupation, many in concentration camps.
World War Two (The Great Patriotic War) had a profound psychological effect on the Soviets.
Tens of millions of Soviets died. Almost every person in the former USSR lost at least one
family member in the war.
Ukrainians believe that the Soviets won World War Two. They refer to the fact that America only
joined the European land war in the later part of the conflict, after the Axis was in retreat.
Speaking with some Ukrainians you get a sense that Ukrainians feel that America in WW2 was
opportunistic, only wanting to control the spoils of what the Russians had already won with their
own blood. One historian said that America "won the war" with the lives of the Soviet soldiers.
There is some justification to this view; the USSR lost more lives in the Great Patriotic War than
any other nation.
Throughout the Cold War, the Soviets built hundreds of thousands of monuments in memory of
the Great Patriotic War. During the Cold War the Soviets wanted to be assured that their military
defense was strong, to make sure that a devastating invasion would never happen again. The
Soviet memory of the Great Patriotic War shaped much of the Cold War.
[edit]
Recovery 1944-1980s
After the war, the Soviets focused more on industry in Odessa instead of international trade. New
industries were built as dozens of new factories were opened. These included factories that made
cable, presses, and steel.
From www.rybak-et-al.net/odessa.htm
[edit]
The new country's government has been slow to reform the Soviet Era state run economy. Real
wages and standard of living for most Ukrainians, especially the elderly, has declines
significantly since the fall of the Soviet Union. People are "voting with there feet" and leaving
the country. The population has decreased by three million people since 1989, from 52 million to
49 million today. Lower birth rates (because couples feel they cannot afford to have a baby) and
higher mortality rates are also responsible for this downward trend.
Scandals have not helped this fledgling democracy. The former Prime Minister of Ukraine sits in
an American jail, charged with embezzling millions of public funds. Many political figures,
businessmen, and journalists have been assassinated. The current president was accused of
masterminding the assassination of a journalist after a bodyguard recorded his conversations.
[edit]
One of hundreds of flags around Odessa on August 3rd, 2002, in memory of the 85 people who
died in Lviv in the world's worst air show disaster.
Mayors
Mayor Hurvets and Mayor Bodelan
Eduard Hurvits was elected mayor of Odessa in 1994. Hurvits was widely popular. He made the
tram system free, which was well received but almost bankrupted the public transportation
system in Odessa. Hurvits ran a classic Ukrainian political machine, awarding cronies plush jobs
and city construction contracts. The Odessa Oil terminal, a primary outlet for Siberian crude oil
exports, led a local economic boom.
But the government in Kiev objected to all this independence. Much of the cash wasn't getting
back to the central government. The regional chairman, Ruslan Bodelan, a Soviet-era
Communist Party chairman for Odessa Region, with support from Kuchma, the current
President, severely criticized Hurvits.
Leading up to the 1997 mayoral election one Hurvit official was shot and another disappeared.
Bodelan's regional police force also raided the pro-Hurvits TV station ART.
But Hurvits critics were also silenced, the editor and publisher of Vechernyaya Odessa (Odessa's
most widely read newspaper) was shot to death. The editor was a strong Hurvits critic. Another
Vechernyaya Odessa reporter was beaten with a lead pipe.
In 1997 Mayor Hurvits was elected for another four years, beating rival Ruslan Bodelan in
elections. Unwilling to accept the democratically elected mayor, the Odessa Region court and
then the Ukrainian High Court voided Hurvit's election to a second four-year term as mayor. Two
days before the election a Malinovsky District Court ruled that Hurvit's name should be struck
from the ballot. The courts entire case was absurdly based on the fact that Hurvits campaign
material violated election regulations by failing to include, on each flyer and poster, the total
number printed. The Odessa City Court had reversed the verdict in favor of Hurvits and voting
had gone ahead as planned.
The Bodelan-Hurvits feud ended on May 28, 1997, when a platoon of black berets armed with
automatic rifles and search warrants took over Odessa City Hall in a dawn raid. Armed law
enforcers also took over the ART television station, a strong supporter of the Hurvits
administration.
Despite promises that he would never leave Odessa, Hurvits, a Jew, fled to Israel later that year,
trailed by corruption charges.
Later in 1997 Bodelan became Odessa's mayor with 34% of the vote. Bodelan appealed to the
pensioners much the same way that Hurvits had, this time during the election campaign he
promised a moratorium on all utility payments for pensioners for the next three months. Like the
other candidates he offered the pensioners food staples like bread and flour as a pre-election gift.
Most Odessites dislike and mistrust Bodelan, calling him, in hushed tones, a member of the
Mafia. (For information on Bodelan and the Nickolayev Church)
Today in Odessa, pensions are paid on time (though they are still less than $20 a month) and
food prices are lower after anti-organized crime sweeps cut back racketeering in the city's
farmers' markets. But many factories are working at a lower capacity and wages are miserly if
they are paid at all.
In September 1999 a new Porto-Franco (free trade) economic zone began in Odessa. It is
scheduled to run for 25 years.
[edit]
Notes
1
The Revival of Liberated Cities in the Soviet Union Vera Alexandrova, Russian Review Vol. 4,
No. 2 (Spring, 1945), p. 62-71; Referencing Trud September 2, 1944
2
Christopher Andrew, Vasili Mitrokhin. "The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the
West" (Penguin Books. 2000), p. 29
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