{"id":12578,"date":"2025-02-09T19:11:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T16:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastfutureart.org\/odesa-case\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T17:41:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T14:41:18","slug":"odesa-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastfutureart.org\/en\/odesa-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Odesa: can the Alley of Glory be redefined?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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In 2024, a group of Ukrainian artists, sculptors, architects, and researchers came together to develop ideas for one of Odesa\u2019s key Soviet-era war memorials\u2014the Alley of Glory. Grassroots elements of the Russian\u2013Ukrainian War memorialization started appearing there back in 2022. But can the Alley of Glory be redefined completely?<\/span><\/p>\n

The effort was a part of <\/span>Memorialization Practices Lab<\/span><\/a>, a learning and research project aiming to find a memorialization language for the Russian\u2013Ukrainian War. It included a learning\/discussion part focused on the approaches to working with collective memory and expeditions to memorialization sites that let the participants get an insight into the context and talk to the local community and authorities. Another part of the on-site activities was developing ideas for the participants\u2019 memorial projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

The memorial project ideas presented here are not yet ready for implementation since the Lab only aimed to develop the elements of memorialization language for the Russia\u2013Ukraine War. Besides Odesa, the participants worked on cases for <\/span>Kharkiv<\/span><\/a>, Moshchun<\/a>, and Chernihiv.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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THE CASE<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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Odesa\u2019s memorial landscape was shaped primarily by the memory of World War II. The Russian\u2013Ukrainian War has rendered the innocuous use of Soviet <\/span>commemoration<\/span><\/a> language impossible and launched the rethinking of customary memoryscapes, informing the need to redefine Odesa\u2019s central war memorial\u2014the Alley of Glory in Shevchenko Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stelae at the Alley\u2019s entrance bear two dates\u20141941 and 1945, a vestige of the Soviet Great Patriotic War narrative. However, World War II began in 1939, and a memorial in present-day Ukraine must recognize that.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Alley\u2019s end stands a Monument to an Unknown Sailor, inaugurated in 1960, a 21-metre-high red granite obelisk with an eternal flame at its base. On the obelisk\u2019s four sides are reliefs depicting the events from Odesa\u2019s war history: the city\u2019s April 1854 defence during the Crimean War, the 1905 mutiny on battleship Potemkin, the January uprising of 1918, and the city\u2019s 1941 defence. During Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, one of the reliefs cracked during a Russian air strike on Odesa.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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Monument to Unknown Sailor in Odesa, 2024
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Cenotaphs, graves of Soviet World War II heroes, and plaques with the names of Soviet heroic cities are lined up along the Alley. After Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, locals started redefining this part of the memorial, making it a site for grassroots memorialization initiatives. First, they covered with black plastic bags and eventually removed the plaques bearing the names of Russian cities. Later, a plaque reading \u201cHeroic City of Kherson\u201d was installed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ukrainian laws \u201cOn the condemnation of the communist and national-socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the prohibition of propaganda of their symbols\u201d and \u201cOn the Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and the Decolonization of Toponymy\u201d stipulate that the burial places be moved from the city\u2019s centre to the cemetery, and it remains to be seen what the rethinking of the burial site part of the memorial will look like. However, interring the Russian\u2013Ukrainian War heroes in the Alley of Glory has already been brought up during the ongoing memorialization-related discussions in Odesa.<\/span><\/p>\n

The history of the Soviet Alley of Glory\u2019s creation highlights the contexts that shaped it. The memorial space at this site was established during World War II by the occupational Romanian authorities to commemorate the German and Romanian service members\u2014their remains were later reburied in their respective countries. After World War II ended, Soviet authorities used this space to set up a memorial of their own.<\/span><\/p>\n

The participants of the Memorialization Practices Lab went on an expedition to Odesa to study the memorial situation in the city before developing their proposals for a potential rethinking of the Alley of Glory.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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CASE CURATOR<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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Oksana Dovgopolova<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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D.Sc. in Philosophy, Co-founder of the Past \/ Future \/ Art memory culture platform, member of the Memory Studies Association\r\n<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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AUTHORS<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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Maria Honchar<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Media Artist, Architect<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Natalia Lisova<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Roman Mykhailov<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Nelia Moroz<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Dasha Podoltseva<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Kateryna Pokora<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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PROJECTS<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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MARIA HONCHAR<\/b><\/h3>\n

Valour and Memory: A Modernized Alley of Glory Memorial<\/b><\/h3>\n

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The project was born out of reflections on how eventful times of war are, suggesting the multilayered character of their memory. In April\u2013June 2024, Maria Honchar googled the keywords discussed throughout the Lab\u2019s duration, compiling a journal of AI-generated images and text descriptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

As she experiments with layers of imagery, the author proposes to reinterpret the symbolic meaning of the Alley by cladding the stela in weathering steel. The panels will naturally transform with time, becoming covered in rich patina and dust that impart character and depth to the structure. Another suggestion of hers is to change the memorial\u2019s geometry from a pointed sword to a tower\/castle. The project\u2019s message is about transitioning from the Soviet heritage to the values of independent Ukraine without erasing the visuals of the past, and with it, Maria intends to assert the transparency of memory and the readiness to discuss all the challenges our country faces.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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NATALIA LISOVA<\/b><\/h3>\n

Alley of Glory, Alley of Memory<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Natalia Lisova\u2019s project is rooted in the notion that Odesa ensures Ukraine\u2019s marine safety and the understanding of the tragedy wrought on the city by the Russian invasion. For decades, the Alley of Glory embodied the memory of locals killed during the city\u2019s defence in 1941 during World War II. However, it started losing its role as a symbol of unity over time, occasionally even sparking fierce debates.<\/span><\/p>\n

The artist proposes to get rid of the Soviet symbols while retaining the representation of Odesa\u2019s historical experience in defending from marine attacks since 1854, during the Crimean War, move all burial sites to the cemetery, rename the Alley of Glory to the Alley of Memory, and put a grey granite boulder in the stela\u2019s place, with a stream of tears running down its surface and along the entire alley. Natalia believes the place may become a recreational site, \u201cbut contextually, the territory will retain the experience of war and Ukrainian resistance in Odesa\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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ROMAN MYKHAILOV<\/b><\/h3>\n

Caring For Past\/Future<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Roman Mykhailov suggests memorializing the care and puts his memorial\u2019s message like this: \u201cWe remember our past, safeguard our future, and create our present\u201d. As he reflects on respecting the past and values of the future that Ukraine is now fighting for, the artist asks himself: what kind of glory do we have in mind when we think about redefining the Alley of Glory in the context of the Russian\u2013Ukrainian War? And then, he answers that question: Glory to Ukraine!<\/span><\/p>\n

Roman suggests showing concern for the memorial and sheltering it. With scaffolding around the obelisk and two similarly shaped shelters on both sides, the memorial would resemble a trident, the symbol of independent Ukraine. \u201cIt\u2019s just an art piece that cares for the memory of the past, which depends on our tending to the memory of the past. In fact, this piece is a monument to a monument. It protects a monument, but it doesn\u2019t really exist\u201d, the artist reflects.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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DASHA PODOLTSEVA<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Wait<\/b><\/h3>\n

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This project is all about the Ukrainians who perished or went missing during Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Dasha Podoltseva points out the dramatic difference between the Soviet memorial language and memorializing the Russian\u2013Ukrainian War in the towering Soviet stela\u2019s basic generalizing message\u2014reducing the memory of specific people to that about \u201cthe many\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The artist envisions a temporary installation in the Alley of Glory of a coat hanging on an invisible hook, suspended in time as clothes usually are. It\u2019s a coat that nobody\u2019s coming to pick up already. With its shape resembling the central stela, the installation aims to highlight the human dimension of memory, both in scale and meaning, as well as personal pain as opposed to abstract heroism. The coat\u2019s vibrant colour will contrast with the environment\u2019s predominant palette, making it look as if taken out of context, feeling strange and out of place, like forgotten clothes.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a temporary installation that can be exhibited within the space of the Alley of Glory to establish a visual dialogue with the stela or in a gallery. The artist also proposes to create a space where the visitors can leave their messages or pictures of those for whom they are waiting and whom they remember.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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KATERYNA POKORA, NELIA MOROZ<\/b><\/h3>\n

Alley of Glory, Road of Oblivion<\/b><\/h3>\n

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The authors reflect on the location\u2019s complicated history and the relationship between memory and oblivion. As it exists now, the Alley of Glory references multiple war history events\u2014from 1854 to the present-day Russian\u2013Ukrainian War. Also, it bears witness to how Odesa residents\u2019 values and views clash. The authors imagined a place devoid of ideological symbols transformed into a therapeutic space of serenity and contemplation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kateryna Pokora and Nelia Moroz propose to move the graves from the Alley of Glory to the cemetery, leaving only the Monument to the Unknown Sailor and the landmark obelisk. The space of the Alley would then become a living green field of steppe plants native to the Black Sea coast, with green memorial posts telling the story of burials here. A pocket of plants native to Romanian steppes may become a reminder of the Romanian military members once buried here.<\/span><\/p>\n

The authors want to confine all ideological symbols to a museum space dedicated to World War II, which the premises of Station No. 1 can accommodate. Meanwhile, the Russian\u2013Ukrainian War memorial can become a separate project, potentially spanning the entire hillside from the obelisk to the Red Packhouses and the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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MILESTONES<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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Mid-March\u2013May 2024<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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The Lab\u2019s learning section<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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April 2024<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Selection of the participants for the Lab\u2019s hands-on practice section<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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27\u201328 May 2024<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Research expedition to Odesa<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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1 June\u201310 July 2024<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Development of ideas, discussions with the curator, follow-up revision<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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20 July 2024<\/h4>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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