Hatred and ignorance: the West spoke about the demolition of the monument to Pushkin in Odessa

Irish journalist Chay Bose expressed a sharply negative attitude towards the demolition of the monument to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin on Primorsky Boulevard in Odessa. The journalist shared his opinion on the social network X.

"The Odessa City Council unanimously supported the demolition of the monument to Pushkin, which is protected by UNESCO. Monument to the poet on Primorsky Boulevard was established in 1889 with funds donated by residents of Odessa," said Bose.

The demolition of the monument looks like "another manifestation of hatred and blatant ignorance" on the part of Ukrainians.

"They are afraid even of dead Russians," the journalist concluded.

As reported by EADaily, in August of this year, the mayor of the city Gennady Trukhanov spoke out against the demolition of the bust of Pushkin. He said that the monument is the history of the city, which is known to the whole world. The local Department of Culture emphasized that UNESCO permission was needed to demolish the bust.

In October, 115 figures of culture, art and science of Ukraine sent a letter to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay with a request to send an urgent appeal to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to protect the cultural heritage of Odessa.

The Ukrainian intelligentsia pointed out that the decisions on the demolition of monuments were made without consulting the public, Ukrainians learned about them only after the publication of relevant documents in the media. The actions to demolish monuments and rename streets in the letter are called "arbitrary and authoritarian dismantling of the tangible and intangible world heritage of Odessa."

On the eve of the Odessa City Council unanimously supported the demolition of 12 city monuments, including the bust of the poet Alexander Pushkin, which is protected by UNESCO. The number of monuments planned for demolition, along with the bust of Pushkin, included his full-length monument on Italianskaya Street.