- December 6, 2025
- 9:34 am
- Israel
Odesa officially celebrates its day on September 2, but behind this date there is not joy, but the shadow of an imperial myth. Russia uses it as a propaganda tool, claiming a “right” to the city and drenching it in blood and fire. In reality, Odesa is a Ukrainian and multinational city, and the question of its founding date has become part of the struggle for truth against Kremlin lies and imperial ambitions.
September 2 is the official date of Odesa City Day. It was established by a resolution of the Odesa City Council № 1240-VI of August 25, 2011 (and has not been changed since), where along with other dates (April 10 — Odesa Liberation Day, April 1 — Humor Day) it was fixed that September 2 is City Day.
Yet behind this holiday lies a much more complex story, which today has become part of a war — not only for territory but also for memory, which we will reveal below.
“Odesa Day in Haifa” — September 2, 2025
“On September 2 at 19:00, on the romantic rooftop of Matnas Hadar, Odesa Day will take place in Haifa!”
Organizer of the event — poet and author of the Telegram channel “CHUESH?” Esti Artseva (Anastasia Esti Artseva) invites:
“An event long awaited by Odesites in Israel, as well as, of course, the ‘guests of the city.’
Haifa is the city most related in essence and spirit to Odesa, resembling the beautiful pearl of the Black Sea more than all other Israeli cities, wouldn’t you agree?
Let’s celebrate the Day of beautiful Odesa together with a view of Haifa’s port, in the company of real Odesites!
The event is the long-time dream of its organizer, poet, and author of the Telegram channel “CHUESH?” — Esti Artseva.
Program:
- Lecture on Odesa’s history by Esti Artseva, with a video presentation by historian Professor Taras Honcharuk.
You will hear truly new facts.- Talented musicians: Nika Chernys (rock band “Chornytsia”) and Ihor Aheienko (+380ID project).
- Odesa poetry performed by Esti Artseva and Odesa poets via video link.
NB: including the superstar of Odesa poetry — Borys Khersonsky.- Throughout the evening, authentic Odesa delicacies will be available from craftswoman Sabina Sosnovska.
Welcome!
Entrance is free, like Odesa itself.
Languages of the event: mainly Ukrainian, some Russian — reflecting the bilingualism of the city and Odesa’s poetry.”.
Matnas Hadar (מתנס הדר) — on September 2 at 19:00, Odesa Day in Haifa will take place on the romantic rooftop of Matnas Hadar!
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Event link — https://www.facebook.com/events/1290555492779138/
Celebration in Haifa and Imperial Phantoms
The organizers of “Odesa Day” in Haifa on September 2, 2025, are not just cultural figures. They are well-known pro-Ukrainian activists and patriots of Ukraine and Israel, who have long supported Ukraine in its just struggle against aggression.
They have repeatedly organized rallies, lectures, and charity evenings in Israel, collected donations for humanitarian needs and aid for Ukrainian soldiers. Their names are well known in the Ukrainian community of Israel as active volunteers and people who do everything to make Ukraine’s voice louder.
This is why the holiday is an important sign of solidarity. It creates a space of joy and support, reminding Odesites abroad that their city is alive, multinational, and free. It is a celebration of culture, freedom, and unity.
But we cannot close our eyes to the darker side of this date. September 2 was imposed back in the time of Empress Catherine II — a harsh colonizer who saw the Black Sea only as a bridgehead for seizing foreign lands. Her name should have long remained only in textbooks, but today Putin and his ideologists once again revive this phantom, trying to justify a new bloody aggression against Ukraine.
Thus, “Odesa Day” becomes a battlefield of symbols: for Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine in Israel, it is a celebration of freedom, while for the Kremlin — a propaganda tool.
And here we must firmly state: Odesa belongs to its multinational population and Ukraine, its history is polyphonic and open to the world, and imperial phantoms have no right to the city’s future.
…
…. back to history ….
Origins of Odesa before the Empire
The history of Odesa goes deep into antiquity, long before the “decree of Catherine II.” This region was inhabited and known to different civilizations for many centuries before the 18th century.
- 6th–5th centuries BC — Greek colonies existed along the Black Sea coast. Archaeologists have found traces of ancient settlements in the areas of today’s Luzanivka and Peresyp. These outposts were part of trade routes linking the Black Sea with Hellas and the Middle East.
- 10th–13th centuries — the coast was within the sphere of influence of Kyivan Rus, and later the Halych-Volhynian Principality. Trade routes passed here, connecting the steppe with northern principalities and the Black Sea.
- 13th–14th centuries — after the Mongol invasion, the territory was under the control of the Golden Horde, later gradually falling into the sphere of influence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
- 1415 — the first documented mention of the settlement Kotsiubiyiv (also Khadjibey, Ґаджибей). A Polish chronicle recorded the existence of a port where grain and salt trade was carried out.
- 1480s — Kotsiubiyiv came under the control of the Crimean Khanate, and later the Ottoman Empire, becoming part of its defense system on the Black Sea.
- 15th–16th centuries — during the Ottoman period, the settlement was known as Khadjibey. A fortress was built here, serving as a strategic hub for coastal control.
- 1789 — during the Russo-Turkish war, the Khadjibey fortress was captured by Russian troops under Joseph de Ribas. A few years later, the empire began “constructing Odesa” on this very site.
Jewish presence in the region also goes back to ancient times. Archaeological finds in the Black Sea region show that already in antiquity, Jewish merchants participated in trade between Greek colonies and eastern lands. During the Ottoman era, Jewish families lived in Khadjibey, engaged in trade and crafts.
In the 17th–18th centuries, Jews began settling here more actively. Documents from the Polish-Lithuanian period recorded Jews among the residents engaged in trade, and after the region became part of the Ottoman Empire, Jewish merchants had privileges in transporting grain and wine through the Khadjibey port.
So, when Catherine II in 1794 “signed a decree to establish Odesa,” Jewish communities already existed here — small, but deeply rooted in local life. And the further history of the city showed that Jews made one of the most powerful contributions to its culture, economy, and intellectual atmosphere.
Thus, the territory of Odesa has at least a six-hundred-year documented history and more than a two-thousand-year archaeological tradition. Odesa did not emerge from “nothing” in 1794 — it inherited a rich past where Greek, Lithuanian, Jewish, Tatar, Ottoman, and Ukrainian lines intertwined.
Catherine II and 1794 – the Imperial Myth of the “Founding Day”
On September 2, 1794, Russian imperial historiography marked the “beginning of the construction of a military harbor by decree of Catherine II.” For the Russian Empire, this was a strategic project — to consolidate its presence on the Black Sea after the Russo-Turkish wars. Later, this date was elevated to the rank of Odesa’s “founding day,” underscoring a purely colonial perspective: as if before the empire’s arrival, there was no history or culture here.
The choice of date was not accidental. September 2 coincided with the birthday of Emperor Alexander I (August 23, Old Style / September 4, 1777). In the 19th century, Russia actively linked city celebrations to dynastic events, and already in the 1820s, under Governor-General Mykhailo Vorontsov, this day began to be officially celebrated as “Odesa Day.” Thus, the holiday was anchored to two imperial symbols — Catherine (the decree about the harbor) and Alexander (his birthday), highlighting the city’s “dynastic dependence” on St. Petersburg.
A key role in consolidating this date was played by Apolon Skalkovsky — an official and historian known for his loyalty to the authorities. In his book “The First Thirty Years of the History of Odesa”, he claimed that on September 2, 1794, the first churches and the “foundation furrow” of the city were laid. But his description was not supported by documents, and later historians (Kostiantyn Smolyaninov and Professor Volodymyr Yakovlev) proved that the church foundations were not laid earlier than 1795. In other words, the myth was deliberately created to give the city an “imperial birthday.”
Moreover, the date gained another “coincidence”: on September 2, 1826, the coronation of Nicholas I took place. In the mid-19th century, the newspaper “Odesa Bulletin” wrote: “Odesa celebrates the coronation day, which miraculously coincided with the day of the city’s founding.” Thus, one and the same day became tied to three royal figures — Catherine, Alexander, and Nicholas. This turned the holiday into a powerful instrument of imperial symbolism.
The first official city celebration of September 2 took place in 1823. For Vorontsov, it was politically convenient: he sought to establish Odesa as an “imperial port center” and distinguish it from other cities of “Novorossiya.” Thus, a date artificially tied to Catherine’s decree, Alexander’s birthday, and Nicholas’s coronation became firmly entrenched in imperial mythology.
Yes, Catherine II died almost 300 years ago (in 1796), but her name still lives on in Kremlin narratives. Russia, and Putin personally, “revive” the image of the empress, speaking of “Catherine’s gift” to justify their claims to Odesa and “Novorossiya.” This narrative deliberately impoverishes the past: reducing a complex, multi-layered history of the region to a “blank space” on which the empire supposedly “built a city.”
Use of the Date in the Soviet Period
The Soviet regime inherited the imperial myth of Odesa’s “founding day” and actively used it in its propaganda. September 2 was convenient for Soviet ideology for several reasons.
First, the date easily fit into the Soviet cult of “liberation” and “building anew.” In the 1930s, it was presented as the moment of “transforming the desert into a flourishing socialist city,” deliberately silencing the history of Odesa before Khadjibey and its multinational roots.
Second, after World War II, there was a symbolic shift: September 2, 1945, was the day of Japan’s capitulation and the end of World War II. This gave the Soviet regime another reason to link Odesa’s “foundation” with “victory in the Great Patriotic War.” Thus, the city celebration became part of the broader Soviet holiday calendar of military triumph.
Third, it was important for the Soviet regime to emphasize continuity with the Russian Empire — but in a “new, Soviet interpretation.” Odesa in Soviet mythology became a “hero city,” a “stronghold of socialist Black Sea power.” And the easiest way was to “tie” this legend to a fixed date, one that had already carried imperial overtones for decades.
Thus, Soviet propaganda adapted September 2 to its own needs: to obscure the city’s historical multinational roots, tie it to the “single history of the great state,” and embed it in the all-Union calendar of “victorious” dates.
Imperial Myth and Modern Aggression
The formal establishment of September 2 as Odesa City Day in 2011 legalized the holiday but at the same time left Odesa hostage to the imperial legend. After all, this is precisely the date that Russia exploits in its propaganda.
The Kremlin insists that “Odesa is a Russian city,” “founded by Catherine II.” Putin and his ideologists constantly refer to “Novorossiya,” Catherine, and “historical grounds,” turning the city holiday into an ideological weapon.
Thus, September 2 has become not just a date but an instrument of colonial memory policy, through which Russia justifies its claims to seize foreign territories.
Alternative Dates and the Struggle for Truth
The debate around Odesa’s “founding day” has intensified in recent decades. More and more historians and public figures emphasize: the city’s history does not begin with Catherine II’s decree of 1794 but goes back much deeper into the past.
May 19, 1415 — the first written record
According to one version, in 2025 Odesa would be 610 years old. It was on May 19, 1415 that Polish chronicler Jan Długosz first mentioned the port of Kaczubyeiow — the predecessor of Khadjibey and today’s Odesa. His fundamental work, “The History of Poland,” was written in Latin in the mid-15th century and published in 1614.
This day is also confirmed in another source — a letter from Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło to the Teutonic Order, noting that the port of Kaczubyeiow was under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Thus, we are dealing not with a “blank spot,” as imperial historiography claimed, but with an operating port and strategic settlement.
Historian Taras Honcharuk and Odesa researcher Oleksandr Stepanchenko clarify: the written record proves that the city has existed continuously since the 15th century. This completely destroys the myth of Odesa’s “appearance” in 1794.
Why May 19?
For several years now, alternative celebrations have been held in Odesa on May 19: lectures, excursions, exhibitions. Activists and cultural figures propose moving City Day to this date, as it is tied not to an imperial decree but to a real point on the map of Europe, when Odesa first appeared in written sources.
In essence, it is a return to the historical roots of the city and a demonstration that Odesa has been part of the region’s history long before the “gifts of the empress.”
The first serious discussions began back in 2015, when the 600th anniversary of the first written mention of Kotsiubiyiv was marked. It was then that the idea arose of abandoning the “imperial date” in favor of the earlier one.
In 2021, a petition appeared on the website of the President of Ukraine, authored by Oleksandr Kovalenko. It proposed recognizing 1415 as the founding year of Odesa. Although the petition did not gain the required number of votes, the very fact of its appearance showed that the issue deeply concerns the citizens.
Renaming of Khadjibey
It is important to note: on February 7, 1795, in the decree on the creation of the Voznesensk Governorate, the name “Odesa” appeared for the first time — “previously called Hadjibey by the Tatars.” In other words, Catherine II did not found the city but merely renamed Khadjibey, which already had a long history as a port settlement.
This topic was raised as early as the 19th century by Odesa historian Oleksiy Markevych, who emphasized the significance of Khadjibey and its Lithuanian-Polish roots. Modern researchers have only strengthened this argument, dismantling the imperial myth of “Catherine’s gift.”
Symbolic Alternative
Thus, May 19 becomes a date capable of uniting historical memory and Odesa’s modern drive toward European identity. For many residents, this day sounds far more honest and genuine than September 2 — a date tied to the “empress’s decree” and the birthday of a Russian tsar.
Odesa — Multinational and Jewish
Odesa has always been a city where cultures and peoples met. From the moment it became a major port in the 19th century, people from all over the world flocked here. Ukrainians and Ruthenians, Jews, Greeks, Bulgarians, Moldovans, Italians, French, Armenians — all shaped the city’s face, turning it into a unique center of the Black Sea.
A special place was occupied by the Jewish community of Odesa. By the end of the 19th century, Jews made up almost one-third of the city’s population: according to the 1897 census, there were about 138,000 Jews. This made Odesa one of the largest Jewish centers in Europe. Trade, science, and culture flourished here, and Odesa became the cradle of Jewish enlightenment — Haskalah. It was also the birthplace of early Zionist organizations that later played a huge role in the history of Israel.
Jews of Odesa made an enormous contribution to world culture. Writer Isaac Babel, humorists and satirists, musicians, entrepreneurs, scholars — all emerged from here. Jewish humor, irony, and the ability to laugh even in hard times became part of the broader Odesa identity.
Jewish Exodus from Odesa
The 20th century brought severe trials for Odesa’s Jewish community.
- 1919–1920 — during the revolution and Civil War, the city was shaken by a series of pogroms that took thousands of lives and forced many to flee abroad.
- 1941–1944 — during Romanian and German occupation, tens of thousands of Jews were killed or deported to Transnistria. The Holocaust destroyed a significant part of the community.
- Soviet period — survivors faced anti-Semitic policies. Religious life was suppressed, education restricted, and the KGB monitored every step. Odesa remained Jewish at heart, but openly expressing identity was difficult.
- 1970s–1980s — a mass exodus began. Odesa became a center of “refuseniks” and the Jewish dissident movement. Thousands of families emigrated to Israel, the USA, Canada, and Germany. At that time, Odesa gave Israel many new citizens — scientists, musicians, engineers, soldiers, and activists.
- After the collapse of the USSR — emigration continued. Many Jews from Odesa found new lives in Israel, the USA, and Europe.
Today, the Jewish community of Odesa is numerically much smaller than a century ago. But its legacy lives on — in synagogues, monuments, and the cultural memory of the city. The “Odesa accent” now lives in Ashdod, Haifa, Bat Yam, and Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands of Odesa Jews resettled.
Thus, Odesa was and remains a multinational city, and in many ways a “Jewish capital” of the Black Sea. Its history is not only about life by the sea but also about tragedies, exoduses, and returns. And today, as Russia tries to claim Odesa, it is crucial to remember: the true spirit of the city was created not by imperial decrees but by the diversity of peoples and the enormous contribution of the Jewish community.
Odesa and Haifa — Sister Cities
The connection between Odesa and Israel is not only about the destinies of thousands of Jews who left the city and built new lives in Ashdod, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. It is also about official sister city ties, sealed by a formal agreement.
On September 13, 1992, in Haifa, an agreement was signed establishing sister city relations between the two cities.
- From Odesa, the document was signed by Mayor Leonid Kholodkovsky,
- From Haifa — Mayor Ariel Weinstein.
This decision was both symbolic and logical. Odesa and Haifa share much: both are seaports, gateways to the world, centers of trade and culture. Both communities are highly multicultural and carry a rich Jewish heritage.
The sister city relationship laid the foundation for cultural and educational exchanges:
- In Haifa, festivals of Odesa culture and concerts with Ukrainian artists were held;
- Odesa universities and Israel’s Technion cooperated in research projects;
- The Jewish community of Haifa helped preserve Jewish monuments in Odesa and provided humanitarian aid.
After 2022, the sister city ties gained even more practical meaning. Israeli cities — especially Haifa — actively received refugees from Ukraine and Odesa, helping them with housing, jobs, and adaptation.
Thus, the union of Odesa and Haifa is not only a paper agreement but a living friendship that has only strengthened over time. Odesa gave Israel tens of thousands of its people, and Haifa became their new home.
Conclusion: Odesa Against the Empire
Today, as Russia drenches Ukraine in blood, the question of Odesa’s City Day takes on a new meaning. The imperial myth of a “Russian Odesa” is not just a lie of the past — it is part of present aggression. Under the guise of “historical grounds,” the Kremlin justifies shelling residential neighborhoods, destroying ports, and killing civilians.
Russia uses the past as a justification for genocide. In their logic, if Catherine “built,” then Putin “has the right to reclaim.” But Odesa was never and will never be an “imperial gift.” It is a city built by the labor and lives of many peoples, but above all — today it is a multinational city of Ukraine, which has laughed and will continue to laugh in the face of any dictatorship.
Russia’s imperial ambitions are not history — they are blood, tears, and death. Ukraine is fighting not only for its future but also for its past, which the Kremlin seeks to steal.
And this is precisely why the dispute over the date of Odesa’s City Day is not a formality. It is part of the greater struggle for truth, for memory, and for ensuring that Ukrainian Odesa remains multinational, free, and alive — despite the empire that wants to turn it into yet another colony.
“Odesa Day in Haifa” — September 2, 2025
Matnas Hadar (מתנס הדר) — on September 2 at 19:00, Odesa Day in Haifa will take place on the romantic rooftop of Matnas Hadar!
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Event link — https://www.facebook.com/events/1290555492779138/
