Museums closed, theaters barricaded, works of art hidden: Claudia Roth gets a picture of everyday life in the Ukrainian port city and cultural metropolis of Odessa. The Minister of State for Culture assures the city of support in the application for UNESCO World Heritage.
There are two stamps for the reception in Odessa. The Ukrainian Minister of Culture Olexandr Tkachenko gave it to his German colleague, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, at the start of her two-day visit to the port city on the Black Sea. The first motif shows a soldier on land, in the background the silhouette of the sunken warship “Moskva” of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In the second variant, the ship has disappeared. The soldier puts up a middle finger. “Fuck off, Black Sea Fleet!” Roth translates the symbolism, much to Tkachenko’s delight.
The gift makes clear the double meaning of Odessa. The Ukrainian metropolis is a lively cultural metropolis beyond times of war, with its port it is also a place of enormous strategic importance. The main transshipment point for sea routes is blocked by Ukrainian mines and the Russian Navy. About 20 million tons of grain are stored in the silos, which cannot be shipped, while new famines are expected in some areas of the world.
Roth faces this harbor at the Potemkin Stairs. The steps are the symbol of Odessa, also made famous by Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 film “Panzerkreuzer Potemkin” with the pram rolling down the steps. Barbed wire now blocks the stepped path from the harbor to the old town where crowds of tourists usually romp about. At the top is the statue of the former governor Richelieu. She cannot be seen. A huge pile of sandbags protects the character from attacks. Such protective measures can be found on every corner.
Tkatschenko and Mayor Hennady Trukhanov give the Minister of State for Culture an overview. Museums are closed, theaters barricaded, windows reinforced with criss-crossing tape against the blast of explosions. “Where are the artworks?” Roth asks in front of one of the buildings. “It’s safe,” says Tkachenko, but he doesn’t want to give any more details. Everything is safety related here.
“In Odessa we can see what it means when culture is deliberately destroyed,” Roth tells her Ukrainian companions. Destruction of art and culture is also a weapon. “A war on culture is also a war on democracy,” says Roth. “When culture is destroyed, democracy no longer has a voice.”
Tkachenko reports that 375 cultural sites have been destroyed or damaged by Russia in Ukraine since the beginning of the war of aggression. Churches, theaters, museums, conservatories, music academies, libraries. The list is long. International experts are to help with reconstruction and repairs. Roth immediately assures her support in one matter. The German government wants to help Odessa apply for UNESCO World Heritage status. “Germany supports this application,” assures the Minister of State for Culture. The city is obviously in an emergency situation, everywhere you can see how works of art are being protected from the attacks. “The Ukrainian government is not alone,” says Roth. She also wants to campaign for Odessa’s application to her colleagues in other countries.
