The cultural life of Odessa is rich and varied. There is something to please everyone in the world of arts. There are six museums and the Exhibition Hall of the Ukrainian Artists’ Union, six theatres, a Philharmonic Society, a circus, a Sports palace, which is often also used as a concert hall, 55 workers’ clubs…
Odessa as a Science. The scientists of Odessa are making a notable contribution to many fields of science, technology and medicine, including plant selection and genetics, the biology of the southern seas and microbiology, chemistry, physics, astronomy and the social science. Thanks to its highly-qualified science personnel, Odessa has become a major science centre of…
Odessa has a well-developed industry. Its branches include the engineering and machine tool, metal-working, road and transport machinery, chemical, radio, light and food industry. Odessa is also an important ship-repair centre of the Black Sea area. The city occupies a notable place in the national economic complex. It produces metal-cutting machine tools, forge and press…
The Port of Odessa always held an important place in domestic trade and is even more important in international trade. Half the passenger traffic and about thirty percent of the cargo traffic of the country passes through the Port of Odessa. The port is a first class highly-mechanised transport junction and is the base of…
As soon as the enemy had been ousted from Odessa, the city got down to healing the wounds of war. The state allocated very large sums for the restoration of the town, and all the Soviet republics helped by sending building materials, machines and equipment, as well as specialists and workers. Between 1946 and 1950…
Then came March, 1944, when Soviet forces were moving indomitably to the West. After the defeat at Stalingrad and then on the Kursk Salient, the German troops were rolling back. They still made attempts to launch the odd counter-offensive, but the days of Hitler’s fascism were nearly over. The job of liberating Odessa fell to…
The fascist armies entered the city left by the Soviet forces towards the evening of October 16th and the dark days of occupation began. Right from the start the occupation authorities issued orders depriving the local population of all civil rights. They were forbidden to leave their homes without special passes, a night curfew was…
The Great Patriotic War (the Heroic Defence of Odessa, the Partisan Movement, the Liberation of the City) On June 22nd, 1941, nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in violation of the 1939 non-aggression Pact. By that time German imperialism had at its service practically the entire economic potential of conquered Europe, and it was out…
Almost three years of battle and repeated occupation had brought Odessa to the brink of economic disaster. Most of the factories and the port were at a standstill and 95% of the merchant fleet had either been sunk by the invaders or taken away. Through immense effort and selfless work, the workers gradually brought back…
From the Founding of the City and up to the Revolution (1794-1917) Odessa is comparatively young and was founded at the end of the 18th century, but the history of the north-west coast of the Black Sea on which the city is situated goes much further back. In the 1st millennium B.C. and the beginning…
The city of Odessa lies on the Black Sea coast in the Bay of Odessa, at the point where the sea and steppe meet. It has a population of over one million – Ukrainians, Moldavians, Bulgarians, Jews, Belorussians and others-more than forty nationalities in all. The city occupies a territory of 160 square kilometers. Odessa…