The historic center of Odessa in Ukraine was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger on Wednesday as “threats of destruction” have hung over the site since the start of the Russian invasion, a decision Moscow branded as “political”.
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During a sometimes stormy extraordinary session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris, the inscription of this city in the middle of the war was decided by six votes in favour, one against (Russia) and 14 abstentions.
“Odessa, a free city, a cosmopolitan city, a legendary port that has shaped cinema, literature and art, is thus under the increased protection of the international community,” said the Director General of the United Nations Organization United for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO ) Audrey Azoulay.
Although largely spared since the Russian offensive began in February 2022, Odessa, best known for its monumental Potemkin Stairs and architecture, has nonetheless been hit by Russian bombardments on multiple occasions.
A “diplomatic victory”
At the presentation of the file, the representative of Icomos, a specialized NGO partner of UNESCO, assessed that the conflict poses “a danger to the historic center of Odessa,” whose “cultural heritage is threatened with destruction”. She also stressed the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional and multi-cultural character of Odessa.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned “a political decision” taken by “a group of countries of the collective West, with the blatant help of the UNESCO Secretariat, which has lost its impartiality.”
Russia, which multiplied procedural maneuvers during the session, had earlier protested a “shallow dossier” and accused the Ukrainian authorities of putting together a candidacy on the basis of “a copy-paste of the Wikipedia page on Odessa.”
It was “a diplomatic victory,” said First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Djeppar on the side of Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced in October that the historic center of Odessa would be a candidate.
In his daily address, the Ukrainian President praised the “protection that the world offers (while) Russia can only offer terror and bombing”.
“In view of the threats that have plagued this heritage since the beginning of the war, the World Heritage Committee has resorted to an emergency procedure,” stressed UNESCO in a press release, also recalling “having secured the reparative damage inflicted since the beginning of the war against the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Modern Art in Odessa”.
Catherine II
Given the context, the file was eminently political. Even before the opening of the session, Ukraine had protested in an open letter to the members of the committee against the reference to Empress Catherine II of Russia as the founder of Odessa at the end of the 18th century.
“The development of Odessa as a port city dates back to the 15th century,” the Ukrainian authorities protested in their open letter.
In November, based on the outcome of a local consultation, the Odessa City Council voted to unlock the statue of Catherine II. The monument to the tsarina, which has become a symbol of Russian oppression for many since war broke out in Ukraine, was removed at the end of December.
Odessa, located 500 km south of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, is very symbolic for Russia. It was the third city of the Russian Empire and its second port.
In April 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that historically it was not part of Ukraine but of Novorossia (New Russia), which he would like to see established.
The inclusion of Odessa in the World Heritage List is one of the highest levels of protection offered by the international community to a cultural heritage, UNESCO reminds. The “at risk” list opens access to enhanced mechanisms for international emergency, technical and financial assistance, she adds.
The World Heritage Committee meets once a year and is made up of representatives from 21 States Parties to the Convention.