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“…it was an unattractive rocky area, with the steep cliff, which led to the sea, without any trees (if not to take into consideration 3 pear trees planted by the Turks), surrounded by dessert of one side and steppes with wolves on the other side. That’s the spot where Odessa was being built from clay and limestone, unprotected from dust and heat by a single tree.”
Alexander Deribas “Old Odessa”
Chronology
1415 The first mentioning of the Hachibey settlement in written sources
1789 The Turkish settlement Hachibey is conquered by the army of Russian Empire
1794 Hachibey changes its name to Odessa. Odessa is officially founded.
1803 Duke de Rischelieu becomes Odessa’s governor
1812-1813 Odessa experiences an epidemic of Bourbon plaque
1823 Count Vorontsov becomes Odessa’s governor
1823-1824 Alexander Pushkin lives in Odessa
1830 The beginning of massive immigration of Jews to Odessa
1841 Construction of Potemkin steps is finished
1853-1856 Crimean War
1871 Jewish pogrom in Odessa
1881 Jewish pogrom in Odessa
1887 Opening of the Opera theater (back then called Odessa’s Theater)
1905 The battleship Potemkin rebellion. Jewish pogrom in Odessa
Oct 1917 The Bolshevik revolution
1918-1920 Civil War in former Russian Empire. Odessa is occupied by French, Ukrainians, White Army and Bolsheviks.
1921 The first of I. Babel’s “Odessa’s Stories” is published
1922 The USSR is formed
1939-1945 World War ll
Oct '41- Apr '44 Odessa is occupied by the troops of Hitler coalition (Romanians)
1942 The Jewish getto was eliminated by Romanian troops in Odessa
1991 Ukraine becomes a sovereign country (the USSR ceased to exist)
Interesting Facts About Odessa
- Several years before Odessa had been founded, four foreigners in Russian service occasionally met on a military vessel during the Russo- Turkish war in 1780s. They were Jose de Ribas, Duc de Richelieu, Count de Langeron and France de Volan. The first three later became governors of Odessa, the fourth developed the city plan, which was used to build Odessa.
- Mark Twain, who visited Odessa on board the Quaker City, wrote about Odessa: “ Wherever we look, to the right, to the left – America is everywhere in front of us”.
- By 1860s Jews made up approximately 25% of local population.
- By 1860s Odessa’s port became the second largest port in Russian Empire and one of the biggest grain exporters to Europe.
- Only in 1873 the water supply system was built in Odessa. Before that “water was more expensive than wine” (A. Pushkin)
- The first Odessa’s coat of arms (1798) had the inscription "The Coat of Arms of Odessa" written in Russian, Greek, Italian and German on the four sides. This was a true recognition of the four key languages, which were spoken in Odessa.
Useful Links
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