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{{Short description|City and administrative center of Odesa Oblast, Ukraine}}
{{Redirect|Odessa|other uses|Odesa (disambiguation)|and|Odessa (disambiguation)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Odesa
| native_name        = {{lang|uk|Одеса}}
| other_name         = Odessa
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities in Ukraine|City]]
| image_skyline      = Odessa-Montage-2016.png
| image_caption      = '''Clockwise from top left''': [[Vorontsov Lighthouse]]; Monument to the [[Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu|Duc de Richelieu]]; [[Potemkin Stairs]]; Square de Richelieu; [[Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre|Opera and Ballet Theatre]]; and [[Odesa city garden|city garden]]
| image_flag         = Flag of Odesa.svg
| image_shield       = Coat of Arms of Odesa.svg
| shield_size        = 90px
| blank_emblem_size  = 70px
| image_blank_emblem = Odesa logo.svg
| blank_emblem_type  = Logo
| image_map          = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=y|frame-width=260|frame-height=300|frame-align=center|stroke-width=2|zoom=10|type=shape-inverse|stroke-color=#808080|fill=#808080|title=Odesa|id=Q1874|fill-opacity=0.4|frame-coordinates={{Coord|46.478|30.728}}}}
| pushpin_map        = Ukraine Odesa Oblast#Ukraine
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Odesa Oblast
| coordinates        = {{Coord|46|29|8.6|N|30|44|36.4|E|region:UA-51_type:city(1,016,000)|display=inline}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{UKR}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Oblasts of Ukraine|Oblast]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Odesa Oblast]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Raions of Ukraine|Raion]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Odesa Raion]]
| established_title  = First mentioned
| established_date   = 19 May 1415
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = [[Gennadiy Trukhanov]]<ref name="tyzhden.ua/post/249910"/>
| leader_party       = Truth and Deeds<ref name="Odesa131120">[https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukrainian-local-elections-city-by-city-guide-to-this-weekends-runoff-votes/ Ukrainian local elections: City-by-city guide to this weekend’s runoff votes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113180952/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukrainian-local-elections-city-by-city-guide-to-this-weekends-runoff-votes/ |date=13 November 2020 }}, [[Atlantic Council]] (13 November 2020)</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 162.42
| area_metro_km2     = 3656
| elevation_m        = 40
| elevation_min_m    = −4.2
| population_total   = 1010537
| population_as_of   = 2022
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_metro   = 1378490<ref>{{citation|title=The number of the available population of Ukraine as of January 1, 2022|url=https://ukrstat.gov.ua/druk/publicat/kat_u/2022/zb/05/zb_%D0%A1huselnist.pdf|access-date=26 March 2023|archive-date=10 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810155123/https://ukrstat.gov.ua/druk/publicat/kat_u/2022/zb/05/zb_%D0%A1huselnist.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_demonym = {{lang-en|[[wikt:Odesan|Odesan]], [[wikt:Odesite|Odesite]], [[wikt:Odessan|Odessan]], [[wikt:Odessite|Odessite]]}}<br />{{lang-uk|одесит, одеситка}}<br />{{lang-ru|одессит, одесситка}}
| postal_code_type   = Postal codes
| postal_code        = 65000–65480
| area_code          = +380 48
| website            = [http://omr.gov.ua/en/ www.omr.gov.ua/en/]
| utc_offset         = +2
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset_DST     = +3
| elevation_max_m    = 65
| timezone1          = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| population_rank    = [[List of cities in Ukraine|3rd]] in Ukraine
| footnotes          = {{designation list | embed = yes
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_offname = The [[Historic Centre of Odesa]]
| designation1_date = 2023 <small>(18th extraordinary [[World Heritage Committee]] session)</small>
| designation1_number = 1703
| designation1_criteria = ii, iv
| designation1_type = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = UNESCO region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe]]
| designation1_free2name = [[List of World Heritage in Danger|Endangered]]
| designation1_free2value = 2023–
}}
| subdivision_type3  = [[Hromada]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Odesa urban hromada]]
}}
'''Odesa''' (also spelled '''Odessa'''){{efn|Many media outlets switched to prefer the Ukrainian transliteration "Odesa" over the Russian "Odessa" following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="CSM spellings"/><ref name="USA Today spellings"/>}} is the third most populous [[List of cities in Ukraine|city]] and [[List of hromadas of Ukraine|municipality]] in [[Ukraine]] and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the [[Black Sea]]. The city is also the [[administrative centre]] of the [[Odesa Raion]] and [[Odesa Oblast]], as well as a multiethnic cultural centre. As of January 2021, Odesa's population was approximately {{Ua-pop-est2022|1,010,537|punct=.|showyear=false}} On 25 January 2023, its [[Historic Centre of Odesa|historic city centre]] was declared a [[World Heritage Site]] and added to the [[List of World Heritage in Danger]] by the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Committee]] in recognition of its multiculturality and 19th-century urban planning.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 January 2023 |title=Ukraine's Odesa city put on UNESCO heritage in danger list |language=en |work=AP NEWS |url=https://apnews.com/article/51da3a402b343bdd9ae8c2587278cb2d |access-date=25 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=The Historic Centre of Odesa |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1703/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125231606/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1703/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The declaration was made in response to the [[Odesa strikes (2022–present)|bombing of Odesa]] during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], which has damaged or destroyed buildings across the city.

In [[classical antiquity]] a large Greek settlement existed at its location no later than the middle of the 6th century BC. It has been researched as a possible site of the ancient Greek settlement of [[Histria (ancient city)|Histria]].

The first chronicle mention of the Slavic settlement-port of [[Khadjibey|Kotsiubijiv]], which was part of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], dates back to 1415, when a ship was sent from here to Constantinople by sea.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Długosz |first1=Jan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EnvqRZPbETUC&pg=RA2-PA367 |title=IOANNIS DŁVGOSSI SEV LONGINI CANONICI QVONDAM CRACOVIENSIS HISTORIAE POLONICAE LIBRI XII.: QVORVM SEX POSTERIORES NONDVM EDITI, NVNC SIMVL CVM PRIORIBVS EX MSCRIPTO RARISSIMO IN LVCEM PRODEVNT |last2=Hoppe |first2=Samuel Joachim |date=1711 |publisher=Svmptibvs Ioannis Lvdovici Gleditschii & Mavritii Georgii Weidmanni |language=la |access-date=13 August 2022 |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216035812/https://books.google.com/books?id=EnvqRZPbETUC&pg=RA2-PA367#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Наш завзятий Головатий" повернувся до Одеси |url=https://m.day.kyiv.ua/uk/article/ukrayina-incognita/nash-zavzyatiy-golovatiy-povernuvsya-do-odesi |access-date=5 August 2022 |website=«Антидот» і «детокс» від «Дня» |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515140648/https://m.day.kyiv.ua/uk/article/ukrayina-incognita/nash-zavzyatiy-golovatiy-povernuvsya-do-odesi |url-status=live }}</ref> After the Grand Duchy lost control, the port and its surroundings became part of the domain of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1529, under the name [[Khadjibey|Hacibey]], and remained in it until the Ottomans' defeat in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)]].

In 1794, a decree of the [[Russian Empire|Russian empress]] [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II]] was issued to establish a navy harbor and trading place in [[Khadjibey]], which was named Odessa soon after.<ref name="автоссылка4">{{cite journal|url=http://catalog.liha-pres.eu/index.php/liha-pres/catalog/view/122/1407/3123-1|author1=O. M. Yeremenko|author2=A. V. Kroytor|title=CHAPTER 5 LUGANIAN CHARACTER TWENTY YEARS LATER: NECESSARY CORRECTION|date=21 September 2020|journal=Liha-Pres|access-date=20 July 2023|archive-date=13 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713212014/http://catalog.liha-pres.eu/index.php/liha-pres/catalog/view/122/1407/3123-1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="автоссылка5">{{Cite web|language=en-GB|url=https://contestedhistories.org/resources/occasional-papers/the-statue-of-catherine-ii-the-great-or-the-monument-to-the-odessa-founders/|title=The Statue of Catherine II 'the Great' or the Monument to the Odessa Founders|website=Contested Histories|date=5 May 2022|access-date=13 July 2023|archive-date=13 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713212015/https://contestedhistories.org/resources/occasional-papers/the-statue-of-catherine-ii-the-great-or-the-monument-to-the-odessa-founders/|url-status=live}}</ref> From 1819 to 1858, Odesa was a [[Free economic zone|free port]]. During the [[Soviet Union|Soviet period]], it was an important trading port and a [[naval base]].

During the 19th century, Odesa was the fourth largest city of the Russian Empire, after [[Moscow]], [[Saint Petersburg]] and [[Warsaw]].<ref name="PH">{{cite journal |first=Patricia |last=Herlihy |author-link=Patricia Herlihy |year=1977 |title=The Ethnic Composition of the City of Odessa in the Nineteenth Century |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=53–78 |url=http://www.huri.harvard.edu/pdf/hus_volumes/vI_n1march1977.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529124351/http://www.huri.harvard.edu/pdf/hus_volumes/vI_n1march1977.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 May 2008 }}</ref> Its historical architecture is more [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] than Russian, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. Some buildings are built in a mixture of different styles, including [[Art Nouveau]], [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Classicism|Classicist]].<ref name="UKRWorld">{{cite web|url=http://ukrworld.com.ua/odesskaya-oblast/odessa/97-odessa-architecture-and-monuments.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306163050/http://ukrworld.com.ua/odesskaya-oblast/odessa/97-odessa-architecture-and-monuments.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 March 2012|title=Odessa: Architecture and Monuments|website=UKRWorld.Com|year=2009|access-date=9 June 2009}}</ref>

Odesa is a warm-water [[warm-water port|port]]. The city of Odesa hosts both the [[Port of Odesa]] and [[Pivdennyi Port|Port Pivdennyi]], a significant oil terminal situated in the city's suburbs. Another notable port, [[Port of Chornomorsk|Chornomorsk]], is located in the same [[oblast]], to the south-west of Odesa. Together they represent a major [[transport hub]] integrating with railways. Odesa's oil and chemical processing facilities are connected to the Russian and other European networks by strategic [[pipeline transport|pipelines]]. In 2000, the Quarantine Pier at Odesa Commercial Sea Port was declared a free port and [[free economic zone]] for a period of 25 years.

== Name ==
*{{lang-en|{{yesitalic|Odesa}} or {{yesitalic|Odessa}}|link=yes}} {{IPAc-en|oʊ|ˈ|d|ɛ|s|ə}} {{Respell|oh|DESS|ə}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Odesa|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/odesa|website=[[Collinsdictionary.com]]}}</ref>
*{{lang-uk|Одеса|translit=Odesa}} {{IPA-uk|oˈdɛsɐ||uk-Одеса.ogg}}
*{{lang-ru|Одесса|translit=Odessa}} {{IPA-ru|ɐˈdʲes(ː)ə||ru-Одесса.ogg}}
*{{lang-el|Οδησσός|translit=Odissós}} 
*{{lang-yi|אָדעס|translit=Odes}}
*{{lang-ro|Odesa}}

Odesa is sometimes called the Pearl by the Sea,<ref>''Note'': "Pearl by the Sea" comes from the popular song『Ах, Одесса, жемчужина у моря』("Ah, Odessa, a pearl by the sea") written by Odessa-born composer  {{ill|Modest Tabachnikov|ru|Табачников, Модест Ефимович}}</ref> the Southern Capital,<ref>Nicknamed "Southern Capital" by an analogy with the nickname "Northern Capital" for ''[[St. Petersburg]]'', see  [https://books.google.com/books?id=tSwWAAAAYAAJ Biblioteka dli͡a chtenii͡a] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604021040/https://books.google.com/books?id=tSwWAAAAYAAJ |date=4 June 2023 }}, 
Volume 42, October 1840, p. 19 (a non-[[optical character recognition|OCR]] text, so you will need to scroll and scroll and scroll... until you notice a verse " Одесса , южная столица , Владычица эвксинскихъ водъ , Стоитъ какъ гордая царица , Вѣнець ей свљтимый небосвод")</ref> [[Culture of Odesa|Odesa-mama and the Humour Capital]], as well as Southern [[Palmyra]].<ref>''Note'': "Southern [[Palmyra]]" is an apposition to [[St. Petersburg]] nicknamed "[[wikt:Northern Palmyra|Northern Palmyra]]".</ref>

In 1795 the city was named Odessa in accordance with the [[Greek Plan]] of Empress Catherine II. Catherine's [[Secretary of State]] [[Adrian Gribovsky]] claimed in his memoirs that the name was his suggestion. Some expressed doubts about this claim, while others noted the reputation of Gribovsky as an honest and modest man.<ref>[http://ukrainianweek.com/History/123898 "Odesa: Through Cossacks, Khans and Russian Emperors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024101327/http://ukrainianweek.com/History/123898 |date=24 October 2018 }}, ''[[The Ukrainian Week]]'', 18 November 2014 (retrieved 2 August 2015)</ref> Odesa is located between the ancient Greek cities of [[Tyras]] and [[Olbia, Ukraine|Olbia]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcfLKHVi2UUC&pg=PA254|title=The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest|first=Benjamin H.|last=Isaac|date=1 January 1986|publisher=BRILL|via=Google Books|isbn=9004069216|access-date=25 October 2015|archive-date=16 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216035813/https://books.google.com/books?id=LcfLKHVi2UUC&pg=PA254#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and it was named using a Slavic feminine form for the ancient Greek city of Odessos ({{lang-grc|Ὀδησσός}}; in Roman times, Odessus). This refers to the second ancient Odessos, founded between the end of the 5th and beginning of the 4th centuries BC (the first one, identified with modern [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] in Bulgaria, is the older of the two, founded c. 610 BC). The exact location of this ancient Odessos is unknown, but modern efforts have attempted to localize it 40&nbsp;km northeast of Odesa, near the village of [[Koshary, Odesa Raion, Odesa Oblast|Koshary]], Odesa Oblast.,<ref>Papuci-Władyka, Ewdoksia, et al. "Greek settlement on the northern Black Sea coast: Polish-Ukrainian excavations in Koshary (Odessa province): third preliminary report: seasons 2000-2003." (2006), pp. 354, 355 (footnote 4), 356</ref> near the [[Tylihul Estuary]].<ref name="Herlihy">{{Cite book |last=Herlihy |first=Patricia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15649318 |title=Odessa : a history, 1794-1914 |date=1986 |publisher=Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute |isbn=0-916458-08-3 |page=7 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=15649318 |access-date=9 August 2022 |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216035819/https://search.worldcat.org/title/15649318 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Odessa'', the transliteration of the name from Russian, was the traditional English spelling of the city's name favoured before [[History of Ukraine|Ukraine's independence]] in 1991 (similarly to the spelling of [[Kyiv]] versus Kiev).  

''Odesa'' became the internationally standardized Latin-alphabet transliteration of the Ukrainian name according to the [[Romanization of Ukrainian#Ukrainian National transliteration|Ukrainian National romanization system]], which was adopted for official use by Ukraine's cabinet in 2010, approved by the [[United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names|UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names]] in 2012, and adopted by the BGN/PCGN in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2-6 May 2011 |title=United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/26th-gegn-docs/WP/WP21_Roma_system_Ukraine%20_engl._.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419132557/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/26th-gegn-docs/WP/WP21_Roma_system_Ukraine%20_engl._.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2022 |access-date=25 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 October 2018 |title=Open Letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine |url=https://ireland.mfa.gov.ua/news/67570-open-letter-of-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-ukraine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406185944/https://ireland.mfa.gov.ua/news/67570-open-letter-of-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-ukraine |archive-date=6 April 2022 |access-date=25 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=UNGEGN Working Group on Romanization Systems |url=https://www.eki.ee/wgrs/rom1_uk.pdf |title=Report on the Current Status of United Nations Romanization Systems for Geographical Names |publication-date=February 2013 |chapter=Ukrainian |access-date=14 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420084523/http://eki.ee/wgrs/rom1_uk.pdf |archive-date=20 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=24 April 2020 |title=Guidance on the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN)/Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN) romanization systems |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/romanization-systems |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627005821/http://pcgn.org.uk/Romanisation_systems.htm |archive-date=27 June 2014 |access-date=14 May 2022 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> This spelling appears in ''Encyclopædia Britannica''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Odesa |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Odessa-Ukraine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717060303/https://www.britannica.com/place/Odessa-Ukraine |archive-date=17 July 2015 |access-date=12 July 2022 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> and in dictionaries as the spelling for the Ukrainian city.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Oxford Dictionary of English |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2023 |chapter=Odesa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of Odesa |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/odesa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624131126/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/odesa |archive-date=24 June 2022 |access-date=24 June 2022 |website=Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Odesa |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/odesa |access-date=12 July 2022 |website=Collins Dictionary |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of ODESA |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/odesa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320204251/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/odesa |archive-date=20 March 2022 |access-date=24 June 2022 |website=Merriam-Webster |language=en}}</ref> As noted by the ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'', many in the English-language media outlets historically spelled the city ''Odessa'', even after changing the spelling of Kiev to Kyiv, but since the beginning of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine more outlets<ref name="CSM spellings">{{Cite news |date=29 March 2022 |title=Kyiv, Odesa, and what's in a name |language=en |work=[[Christian Science Monitor]] |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Daily/2022/20220329/Kyiv-Odesa-and-what-s-in-a-name |url-status=live |access-date=12 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712010415/https://www.csmonitor.com/Daily/2022/20220329/Kyiv-Odesa-and-what-s-in-a-name |archive-date=12 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="USA Today spellings">{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Ella |date=13 April 2022 |title=Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked questions over why Ukrainian cities have historically been transliterated after their Russian versions |work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/13/kyiv-kiev-ukraine-cities-why-spelling-matters/7231437001/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230004728/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/13/kyiv-kiev-ukraine-cities-why-spelling-matters/7231437001/?gnt-cfr=1 |archive-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> and style guides<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-12-23 |title=Guardian and Observer style guide: O |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-o |access-date=2023-11-14 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=17 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317154926/http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-o |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The ABC Style Guide {{!}} About the ABC |url=https://about.abc.net.au/abc-editorial/the-abc-style-guide/#U |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=about.abc.net.au |archive-date=5 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105140015/https://about.abc.net.au/abc-editorial/the-abc-style-guide/#U |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-11 |title=Associated Press Stylebook |url=https://www.apstylebook.com/topical_most_recent |access-date=2023-11-14 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511180352/https://www.apstylebook.com/topical_most_recent |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> have been shifting away from Russian transliterations.

== History ==
{{For timeline}}

{{Quote box |width=23em |align=left   |bgcolor=GhostWhite
| title = Historical affiliations
| fontsize = 90%
| quote = {{flagicon image|Royal_banner_of_the_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania.svg}}[[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] 1415-1484<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ottoman_Empire_(1517-1793).svg}}[[Ottoman Empire]] 1484-1789<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}}[[Russian Empire]] 1789-1917<br/>'''Beginning of 1917-1921 revolution'''<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}}[[Provisional Government|Russian Provisional Government]] 1917<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ukraine_(1917–1921).svg}}[[Ukrainian People's Republic|UPR]] dec 1917-nov 1918<br/>
{{flagicon image|Socialist_red_flag.svg}}[[Odessa Soviet Republic|OSR]] jan-mar 1918<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ukraine_(1917–1921).svg}}[[Ukrainian State]] mar-dec 1918<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}}[[Armed Forces of South Russia|AFSR]] dec 1918-apr 1919<br/>
{{flagicon image|Socialist_red_flag.svg}}[[Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of Ukraine|PWPGU]]/{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ukrainian_People's_Republic_of_the_Soviets.svg}}[[Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic|UkSSR]] apr-aug 1919<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}}[[Armed Forces of South Russia|AFSR]] aug 1919-feb 1920<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ukrainian_People's_Republic_of_the_Soviets.svg}}/{{flagicon image|Socialist_red_flag.svg}}/{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1919-1929).svg}}[[Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic|UkSSR]] feb 1920-dec 1922<br/>
'''End of the 1917-1921 revolution'''<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1924–1936).svg}}[[USSR]] 1922-1941<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Romania.svg}}[[Kingdom of Romania]] 1941-1944<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg}}[[USSR]] 1944-1991<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ukraine.svg}}[[Ukraine]] 1991-to this day<br/>
}}


=== Early history ===
[[File:Античный музей на бульваре.jpg|thumb|200px|The remains of an ancient Greek settlement (under the glass roof) on Prymorskyi Boulevard in Odesa<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odessaguide.net/sights_excavationsite.ru.html|title=Одесские достопримечательности — раскопки греческого поселения|first=Igor|last=Kalinin|work=odessaguide.net|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411152207/http://www.odessaguide.net/sights_excavationsite.ru.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Odesa was the site of a large [[Greek colony|Greek settlement]] no later than the middle of the 6th century BC (a [[necropolis]] from the 5th–3rd centuries BC has long been known in this area). Some scholars believe it to have been a trade settlement established by the Greek city of [[Histria (ancient city)|Histria]]. Whether the Bay of Odesa is the ancient "Port of the Histrians" cannot yet be considered a settled question based on the available evidence.<ref>"The Greek Colonisation of the Black Sea Area: Historical Interpretation of Archaeology," December 1998, Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. (ed.), ''Franz Steiner Verlag'', p. 41, n. 116.</ref> [[Artifact (archaeology)|Archaeological artifacts]] confirm extensive links between the Odesa area and the eastern [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]].

In the Middle Ages successive rulers of the Odesa region included various [[nomad]]ic tribes ([[Pechenegs|Petchenegs]], [[Cumans]]), the [[Golden Horde]], the [[Crimean Khanate]], the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. [[Yedisan]] [[Crimean Tatars]] traded there in the 14th century.

Since the middle of the 13th century the city's territory belonged to the Golden Horde domain.<ref name=ehuver10>{{Cite web |last=Vermenych |first=Ya. |title= |script-title=uk:ОДЕСА |trans-title=Odesa |url=http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Odesa_mst |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329031231/http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Odesa_mst |archive-date=29 March 2022 |access-date=16 July 2023 |website=Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine}}</ref> On Italian navigational maps of 14th century on the place of Odesa is indicated the castle of Ginestra, at the time the center of a [[Gazaria (Genoese colonies)|Gazarian]] colony of the [[Republic of Genoa]].<ref name=ehuver10/> During the reign of [[Khan (title)|Khan]] [[Hacı I Giray]] of [[Crimea]] (1441–1466), the Khanate was endangered by the Golden Horde and the Ottoman Turks and, in search of allies, the khan agreed to cede the area to Lithuania. The site of present-day Odesa was then a fortress known as [[Khadjibey]] (named for Hacı I Giray, and also spelled Kocibey in [[Modern English|English]], Hacıbey or Hocabey in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], and Hacıbey in [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]]). Khadjibey was first mentioned in 1415 in Polish chronicles by [[Jan Długosz]], when a ship with grain sailed from there to Constantinople.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Історія Одеси. Що робить її справжнім українським містом? |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/30723938.html |access-date=5 August 2022 |website=Радіо Свобода |date=2 May 2021 |language=uk |last1=Штекель |first1=Михайло |archive-date=5 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805132657/https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/30723938.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ehuver10/> By the middle of the 15th century, the settlement was depopulated.<ref name=ehuver10/>

=== Ottoman conquest ===
[[Khadjibey]] came under direct control of the Ottoman Empire after 1529.<ref name=ehuver10/> In the mid-18th century, the Ottomans rebuilt the [[Fortification|fortress]] at Khadjibey (also known as Hocabey), which was named ''Yeni Dünya''<ref name=ehuver10/> (literally "New World").

=== Russian conquest of Sanjak of Özi (Ochakiv Oblast) ===
A [[History of the Russo-Turkish wars|series of wars]] between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, as well as the demise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, allowed Russia to start to fully exploit the ancient [[Black Sea trade and economy|Black Sea trade]] across the coastal area through the steppe across southern and eastern Ukraine, into the hinterland of [[East-Central Europe|East Central Europe]]. Stable commercial activity in this region in practice in the past required both security through the overland routes, and knowledge of where products could go overseas. In antiquity, various Greek colonies had taken this role, followed by the [[Varangians]] who established [[Kievan Rus']] in the 9th century, as well as various Italian colonies after the [[Mongol invasion of Europe]].{{r|Herlihy|page=1-3}} Under Catherine the Great, Russia gained, via the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]], the lands where [[Mariupol]], [[Kherson]], and [[Mykolaiv]] would be founded. However, they were all handicapped in various ways relative to how much commercial interest there was. For example, the latter two cities were situated in lowlands near marshes, which provided for poor sanitary conditions in the technology available at that time. {{r|Herlihy|page=5}}

[[File:CASTELNAU(1827) p3.020 PLAN D' ODESSA EN 1794.jpg|thumb|240px|A map of Odesa in 1794]]
[[File:CASTELNAU(1827) p3.039 PLAN DE LA VILLE D' ODESSA EN 1814.jpg|thumb|240px|A map of Odesa in 1814]]
{{see also|Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)}}
The sleepy fishing village of Odesa had witnessed a sea-change in its fortunes when the wealthy [[Magnates of Poland and Lithuania|magnate]] and future [[Kiev Voivodeship|Voivode of Kiev]] (1791), [[Antoni Protazy Potocki]], established trade routes through the port for the ''Polish Black Sea Trading Company'' and set up the infrastructure in the 1780s.<ref>Łubieński, Tomasz Wentworth. (1886). ''Henryk Łubieński i jego bracia: wspomnenia rodzinne odnoszące się do historyi Królestwa Polskiego i Banku Polskiego''. Warsaw: Księg. G. Gebethner, p.41 (in Polish)</ref>

During the [[Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)|Russian-Turkish War of 1787–1792]],<ref name=ehuver10/> on 25 September 1789, a detachment of [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian forces]], including [[Zaporozhian Cossacks]] under [[Alexander Suvorov]] and [[Ivan Gudovich]], took [[Khadjibey]] and Yeni Dünya for the [[Russian Empire]]. One section of the troops came under command of a [[Spanish people|Spaniard]] in Russian service, Irishman [[Major General]] [[José de Ribas]] (known in Russia as Osip Mikhailovich Deribas); today, the main street in Odesa, [[Deribasivska Street]], is named after him.

Russia formally gained possession of the Sanjak of Özi (Ochakiv Oblast){{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=183}} as a result of the [[Treaty of Jassy]] (Iaşi)<ref name=ehuver10/> in 1792 and it became a part of [[Yekaterinoslav Viceroyalty]]. The Russian Empire took full control of Crimea, as well as land between the [[Southern Bug]] and the [[Dniester]], including the [[Khadzhibey Estuary]] where the Turkish fortress of [[Khadjibey]] was located. The newly acquired Ochakov Oblast was promised to the Cossacks by the Russian government for resettlement.<ref>Yefimenko, Aleksandra. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ASGYCgAAQBAJ&dq=%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F++%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C&pg=PT126 Ochakov Oblast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604020728/https://books.google.com/books?id=ASGYCgAAQBAJ&dq=%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F++%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C&pg=PT126 |date=4 June 2023 }}''. History of Ukraine and its people. Litres. 2018</ref> On permission of the Archbishop of Yekaterinoslav Amvrosiy, the Black Sea Kosh Host, that was located around the area between [[Bender, Moldova|Bender]] and [[Ochakiv]], built second after [[Sucleia]] wooden church of Saint Nicholas.{{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=184}}{{Clarify|date=March 2022}}

By the Highest{{Clarify|date=March 2022}} [[rescript]] of 17 June 1792 addressed to General Kakhovsky it was ordered to establish the Dniester Border Line of fortresses.{{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=184}} The commander of the land forces in Ochakiv Oblast was appointed Graf (Count) [[Alexander Suvorov|Suvorov-Rymnikskiy]].{{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=184}} The main fortress was built near Sucleia at the mouth of [[Botna River|river Botna]] as the Head Dniester Fortress by Engineer-Major [[François Sainte de Wollant|de Wollant]].{{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=184}} Near the new fortress saw the formation of a new "Vorstadt" (suburb) where people moved from Sucleia and Parkan.{{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=184}} With the establishment of the Voznesensk Governorate on 27 January 1795, the Vorstadt was named [[Tiraspol]].{{sfn|Imperial|1848|p=184}}

The Flemish engineer working for the Russian Empress [[Catherine the Great]], José de Ribas's collaborator [[François Sainte de Wollant|Franz de Voland]] recommended the area of [[Khadjibey]] fortress as the site for the region's basic port: it had an ice-free harbor, breakwaters could be cheaply constructed that would render the harbor safe and it would have the capacity to accommodate large fleets. The Namestnik of Yekaterinoslav and Voznesensk, [[Platon Zubov]] (one of Catherine's favorites), supported this proposal. In 1794 Catherine issued a Rescript to José de Ribas: "Considering favorable [[Khadjibey]] location... I order to establish here a navy harbor and trading pierce..." and invested the first money (26.000 rubles) in construction. Franz de Voland drew up a plan that would end up being the city's plan.{{r|Herlihy|page=7}}

[[File:Odessa vlasenko.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ivan Martos]]'s statue of the [[Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu|Duc de Richelieu]] in Odesa]]

However, adjacent to the new official locality, a [[Moldavia]]n colony already existed, which by the end of the 18th century was an independent settlement named [[Moldavanka]]. Some local historians consider that the settlement predates Odesa by about thirty years and assert that the locality was founded by Moldavians who came to build the fortress of Yeni Dunia for the Ottomans and eventually settled in the area in the late 1760s, right next to the settlement of [[Khadjibey]], on what later became the Primorsky Boulevard. Another version posits that the settlement appeared after Odesa itself was founded, as a settlement of Moldavians, Greeks, and Albanians fleeing the Ottoman yoke.<ref name="Richardson, p.110">[[#Richardson|Richardson]], p. 110.</ref>

Under [[Paul I of Russia]], construction of Odesa was stopped, Franz de Voland was removed from the project, and José de Ribas was implicated in a plot to assassinate the Emperor. After Paul's assassination in 1801, the city resumed construction, and used a plan largely from de Voland's work. It was thus one of the few master planned cities in the Russian Empire. {{r|Herlihy|page=13}}

===Renaming of the settlement and establishment of sea port===
In 1795, [[Khadjibey]] was officially renamed with the feminine name『{{Lang|ru|Одесса}} ({{transliteration|ru|Odessa}})』after a Greek colony of Odessos that supposedly was located in the area. The first census that was conducted in Odesa was in 1797 which accounted for 3,455 people.<ref name=ehuver10/> Since 1795, the city had its own city magistrate, and since 1796 a city council of six members and the Odesa Commodity Exchange.<ref name=ehuver10/> In 1801, in Odesa had opened the first commercial bank.<ref name=ehuver10/> In 1803, the city accounted for 9,000 people.<ref name="ukrssrtronko">{{Cite web |last=Tronko |first=Petro |author-link=Petro Tronko |title= |script-title=uk:Виникнення і розвиток міста Одеса |trans-title=Creation and development of the city of Odesa |url=http://ukrssr.com.ua/odeska/viniknennya-i-rozvitok-mista-odesa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609064004/https://ukrssr.com.ua/odeska/viniknennya-i-rozvitok-mista-odesa |archive-date=9 June 2023 |access-date=16 July 2023 |language=uk-UA}}</ref>

[[File:Большая Московская.jpg|thumb|200px|In the mid-19th century Odesa became a resort town famed for its popularity among the Russian upper classes. This popularity prompted a new age of investment in the building of hotels and leisure projects.]]
[[File:CP Odessa Dom Russova circa 1920s.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|By the early 1900s Odesa had become a large, thriving city, complete with European architecture and electrified urban transport.]]
In their settlement, also known as Novaya Slobodka, the Moldavians owned relatively small plots on which they built village-style houses and cultivated vineyards and gardens. What became Mykhailovsky Square was the center of this settlement and the site of its first [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox church]], the Church of the Dormition, built in 1821 close to the seashore, as well as a cemetery. Nearby stood the [[barracks|military barracks]] and the country houses (''[[dacha]]'') of the city's wealthy residents, including that of the [[Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu|Duc de Richelieu]], appointed by Tsar [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] as Governor of Odesa in 1803.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Richelieu, Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septemanie du Plessis, Duc de |volume= 23 | pages = 302&ndash;303 |short= 1}}</ref> Richelieu played a role during [[1812–1819 Ottoman plague epidemic|Ottoman plague epidemic]] which hit Odesa in the autumn 1812.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G6W32VE42L0C&dq=plague+Odessa+1812&pg=PA312|title=Travels in Russia, and a residence at St. Petersburg and Odessa, in the years 1827-1829|first=Edward|last=Morton|date=12 July 1830|publisher=Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green|via=Google Books|access-date=12 July 2022|archive-date=16 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216035813/https://books.google.com/books?id=G6W32VE42L0C&dq=plague+Odessa+1812&pg=PA312#v=onepage&q=plague%20Odessa%201812&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://balkanist.net/plague-and-political-tyranny-odessa/|title=Odessa, 1812: Plague and Tyranny at the Edge of the Empire|date=5 December 2015|access-date=12 July 2022|archive-date=29 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629030148/http://balkanist.net/plague-and-political-tyranny-odessa/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dismissive of any attempt to forge a compromise between quarantine requirements and free trade, Prince [[Alexey Kurakin|Kuriakin]] (the Saint Petersburg-based High Commissioner for Sanitation) countermanded Richelieu's orders.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QSd7DQAAQBAJ&dq=plague+Odessa+1812&pg=PA147|title=Migration and Disease in the Black Sea Region: Ottoman-Russian Relations in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries|first=Andrew|last=Robarts|date=1 December 2016|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781474259507|via=Google Books|access-date=12 July 2022|archive-date=16 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216035813/https://books.google.com/books?id=QSd7DQAAQBAJ&dq=plague+Odessa+1812&pg=PA147#v=onepage&q=plague%20Odessa%201812&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the period from 1795 to 1814, the population of Odesa increased 15 times over and reached almost 20 thousand people. The first city plan was designed by the engineer F. Devollan in the late 18th century.<ref name="UKRWorld"/> Colonists of various ethnicities settled mainly in the area of the former colony, outside of the official boundaries, and as a consequence, in the first third of the 19th century, Moldavanka emerged as the dominant settlement. After planning by the official architects who designed buildings in Odesa's central district, such as the Italians Francesco Carlo Boffo and Giovanni Torricelli (see [[Italians of Odesa]]), Moldovanka was included in the general city plan, though the original grid-like plan of Moldovankan streets, lanes, and squares remained unchanged.<ref name="Richardson, p.110"/>

The new city quickly became a major success although initially, it received little state funding and privileges.<ref name="older settlements already">[http://ukrainianweek.com/History/123898 Odesa: Through Cossacks, Khans and Russian Emperors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024101327/http://ukrainianweek.com/History/123898 |date=24 October 2018 }}, [[The Ukrainian Week]] (18 November 2014)</ref> Its early growth owed much to the work of the [[Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu|Duc de Richelieu]], who served as the city's governor between 1803 and 1814. Having fled the [[French Revolution]], he had served in [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine's]] army against the Turks. He is credited with designing the city and organizing its amenities and infrastructure, and is considered{{by whom|date=August 2011}} one of the founding fathers of Odesa, together with another Frenchman, Count [[Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron|Andrault de Langeron]], who succeeded him in office.

Richelieu is commemorated by a [[bronze sculpture|bronze statue]], unveiled in 1828 to a design by [[Ivan Martos]]. His contributions to the city are mentioned by [[Mark Twain]] in his travelogue ''[[The Innocents Abroad|Innocents Abroad]]'': "I mention this statue and this stairway because they have their story. Richelieu founded Odessa – watched over it with paternal care – labored with a fertile brain and a wise understanding for its best interests – spent his fortune freely to the same end – endowed it with a sound prosperity, and one which will yet make it one of the great cities of the Old World".

In 1819, Odesa became a free port, a status it retained until 1859. Odesa became home to an extremely diverse population of Albanians, Armenians, Azeris, Bulgarians, Crimean Tatars, Frenchmen, Germans (including Mennonites), Greeks, Italians, Jews, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Turks, Ukrainians, and traders representing many other nationalities (hence numerous "ethnic" names on the city's map, for example ''Frantsuzky'' (French) and ''Italiansky'' (Italian) Boulevards, ''Grecheskaya'' (Greek), ''Yevreyskaya'' (Jewish), ''Arnautskaya'' (Albanian) Streets).

The [[Filiki Eteria]], a Greek [[freemasonry]]-style society that was to play an important role in the [[Greek war of independence|Greek War of Independence]], was founded in Odesa in 1814 before relocating to [[Constantinople]] in 1818. Odesa's [[cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitan]] nature was documented by the great [[List of Russian language poets|Russian poet]] [[Alexander Pushkin]], who lived in [[exile|internal exile]] in Odesa between 1823 and 1824. In his letters, he wrote that Odesa was a city where "the air is filled with all Europe, French is spoken and there are European papers and magazines to read".

Odesa's growth was interrupted by the [[Crimean War]] of 1853–1856, during which it was bombarded by [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] and [[Second French Empire|Imperial French]] naval forces.<ref>Clive Pointing, ''The Crimean War: The Truth Behind the Myth'', Chatto & Windus, London, 2004, {{ISBN|0-7011-7390-4}}.</ref> It soon recovered and the growth in trade made Odesa Russia's largest grain-exporting port. In 1866, the city was linked by rail with [[Kyiv]] and [[Kharkiv]] as well as with [[Iaşi]] in Romania.

[[File:potemkinstairs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|The 142-metre-long [[Potemkin Stairs]] (constructed 1837–1841), which were famously featured in the 1925 film ''[[Battleship Potemkin]]'']]

The [[History of the Jews in Odesa|city became the home of a large Jewish community]] during the 19th century, and by 1897 Jews were estimated to comprise some 37% of the population. The community, however, was repeatedly subjected to [[anti-Semitism]] and anti-Jewish agitation from almost all Christian segments of the population.<ref name="bh.org.il">{{cite web |title=The Jewish Community of Odessa |url=https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e224090/Place/Odessa |publisher=The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot |access-date=18 February 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604020731/https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e224090/Place/Odessa |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Pogrom]]s were carried out in [[Odessa pogrom|1821, 1859, 1871, 1881 and 1905]]. Many Odesan Jews fled abroad after 1882, particularly to the [[Ottoman Syria|Ottoman]] region that became [[Palestine (region)#Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods|Palestine]], and the city became an important base of support for [[Zionism]].

=== Beginnings of revolution ===
{{see also|Odesa Governorate}}
[[File:Entry of the Red Army in Odessa, April 1919.jpg|thumb|Bolshevik troops entering Odesa]]
In 1905, Odesa was the site of a workers' uprising supported by the crew of the [[Russian battleship Potemkin|Russian battleship ''Potemkin'']] and the [[Iskra#History|Menshevik]]'s [[Iskra]]. [[Sergei Eisenstein]]'s famous motion picture ''The Battleship Potemkin'' commemorated the uprising and included a scene where hundreds of Odesan citizens were murdered on the great stone staircase (now popularly known as the "Potemkin Steps"), in one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history. At the top of the steps, which lead down to the port, stands a statue of the [[Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu|Duc de Richelieu]].<ref name=UkrainianWeekOd16042018/>

The actual massacre took place in streets nearby, not on the steps themselves, but the film caused many to visit Odesa to see the site of the "slaughter". The "Odesa Steps" continue to be a [[tourist attraction]] in Odesa. The film was made at [[Odesa Film Studio|Odesa's Cinema Factory]], one of the oldest cinema studios in the [[Post-Soviet states|former Soviet Union]].<ref name=UkrainianWeekOd16042018/>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Bolsheviks enter odessa.jpg|thumb|left|[[Red Army|Bolshevik forces]] enter Odessa, February 1920]] -->

Following the [[October Revolution|Bolshevik Revolution]] in 1917 during [[Ukrainian-Soviet War]], Odesa saw two Bolshevik armed insurgencies, the [[Odessa Bolshevik Uprising|second of which]] succeeded in establishing their control over the city; for the following months, the city became a center of the [[Odesa Soviet Republic]]. After signing of the [[Brest-Litovsk Treaty]] all Bolshevik forces were driven out by 13 March 1918 by the combined armed forces of the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]], providing support to the [[Ukrainian People's Republic]].<ref name=UkrainianWeekOd16042018>{{citation | last = Tynchenko | first = Yaros | title = The Ukrainian Navy and the Crimean Issue in 1917-18 | url = http://ukrainianweek.com/History/105648 | work = [[The Ukrainian Week]] | date = 23 March 2018 | access-date = 14 October 2018 | archive-date = 11 November 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191111180649/https://ukrainianweek.com/History/105648 | url-status = live }}</ref>

With the end of the [[World War I]] and the withdrawal of armies of Central Powers, the Soviet forces fought for control over the country with the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic. A few months later the city was occupied by the [[French Army]] and the [[Greek Army]] that supported the Russian [[White movement|White Army]] in its struggle with the Bolsheviks. The Ukrainian general [[Nykyfor Hryhoriv]] who sided with Bolsheviks managed to drive the [[Triple Entente]] forces out of the city, but Odesa was soon retaken by the Russian White Army. By 1920 the Soviet Red Army managed to overpower both the Ukrainian and Russian White Army and secure the city.

The people of Odesa suffered badly from a [[famine]] that resulted from the [[Russian Civil War]] in 1921–1922 due to the Soviet policies of [[prodrazverstka]]. In 1937, around 1,000 Poles were executed in Odesa during the [[Polish Operation of the NKVD]].<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(<span class="ltr">s</span>); no by-line.--> |title=Deportacje ludności polskiej do Kazachstanu w 1936 roku. Zarys historyczny|year=2016|language=pl|publisher=Kancelaria [[Senate of Poland|Senatu]]|location=Warszawa|page=37}}</ref>

=== World War II ===

[[File:Odessa Soviet artilery.JPG|right|thumb|A Soviet gun crew in action at Odesa in 1941]]

During [[World War II]], Odesa was attacked by Romanian and German troops in August 1941. The [[Siege of Odessa (1941)|defense of Odesa]] started on 5 August 1941 and lasted for 73 days. The defense was organized on three lines with emplacements consisting of trenches, anti-tank ditches and pillboxes. The first line was {{convert|80|km|abbr=off}} long and situated some {{convert|25|to|30|km|abbr=off}} from the city. The second and main line of defense was situated {{convert|6|to|8|km|abbr=off}} from the city and was about {{convert|30|km|abbr=off}} long. The third and last line of defense was organized inside the city itself. [[Lyudmila Pavlichenko]], the famous female sniper, took part in the battle for Odesa. She recorded 187 confirmed kills during the defense of Odesa. Pavlichenko's confirmed kills during World War II totaled 309 (including 36 enemy snipers).

{{See also|Romania during World War II}}
[[File:Odessa opera house advertisement transnistria times.jpg|thumb|Soldier reading the announcement of Opera House in Odesa during the Romanian occupation in 1942. The name of the city in Romanian is spelled as Odesa with one letter 's'.]]
The city fell to the [[Axis powers|Axis]] on 16 October 1941,{{Sfn|Mykhailutsa|Niculcea|2020|pp=197–198}} and it was henceforth subject to Romanian administration. By that time, the Soviet authorities had been able to evacuate 200,000 people as well as weaponry and industrial equipment.{{Sfn|Mykhailutsa|Niculcea|2020|p=192;198}} A day later, Odesa was made the capital of [[Transnistria (World War II)|Transnistria]].<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Güney-Doğu Avrupa Araştırmaları Dergisi - the Journal of Southeastern European Studies|volume=35|year=2020|doi=10.26650/gaad.794916|title=The Southern Bug - Dnister Interfluve During World War II: Administrative Organization, Staffing and Statistics|first1=Mykola|last1=Mykhailutsa|first2=Igor|last2=Niculcea|issue=35|page=195|s2cid=243955109|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1290366|access-date=22 March 2022|archive-date=21 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521210724/https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1290366|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> Partisan fighting continued, however, in the [[Odesa catacombs|city's catacombs]].

Following the siege, and the Axis occupation, approximately 25,000 Odesans were murdered in the outskirts of the city and over 35,000 deported; this came to be known as the [[1941 Odessa massacre|Odesa massacre]]. Most of the atrocities were committed during the first six months of the occupation which officially began on 17 October 1941, when 80% of the 210,000 Jews in the region were killed,<ref name="Richardson, p.33">[[#Richardson|Richardson]], p. 33.</ref> compared to Jews in Romania proper where the majority survived.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/05/the-antonescu-paradox-romania-world-war-ii-hitler/|title=The Antonescu Paradox|date=5 February 2016|website=Foreign Policy|access-date=19 June 2018|archive-date=6 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206082954/https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/05/the-antonescu-paradox-romania-world-war-ii-hitler/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the Nazi forces began to lose ground on the Eastern Front, the Romanian administration changed its policy, refusing to deport the remaining [[Jewish population]] to extermination camps in German [[History of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied Poland]], and allowing Jews to work as hired labourers. As a result, despite the events of 1941, the survival of the Jewish population in this area was higher than in other areas of occupied eastern Europe.<ref name="Richardson, p.33"/>

[[Orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union|A Soviet medal]], [[Medal "For the Defence of Odessa"|"For the Defence of Odesa"]], was established on 22 December 1942. It was one of the first four Soviet cities to be awarded the title of "[[Hero City (Soviet Union)|Hero City]]" in 1945. (The others were [[Siege of Leningrad|Leningrad]], [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]], and [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–42)|Sevastopol]]).

The city suffered severe damage and sustained many casualties over the course of the war. Many parts of Odesa were damaged during both its siege [[Odessa Offensive|and recapture on 10 April 1944]], when the city was finally liberated by the [[Red Army]]. Some of the Odesans had a more favourable view of the Romanian occupation, in contrast with the Soviet official view that the period was exclusively a time of hardship, deprivation, oppression and suffering – claims embodied in public monuments and disseminated through the media to this day.<ref>[[#Richardson|Richardson]], p. 103.</ref> Subsequent Soviet policies imprisoned and executed numerous Odesans (and deported most of the German population) on account of collaboration with the occupiers.<ref>[[#Richardson|Richardson]], p. 17.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Odessa (timbre soviétique).jpg|Postage stamp of the USSR 1965 "Hero-City Odesa 1941–1945"
File:Defence of Odessa OBVERSE.jpg|Obverse of the Soviet campaign medal "For the Defence of Odesa"
File:Defence of Odessa REVERSE.jpg|Reverse of the Soviet campaign medal "For the Defence of Odesa"; inscription reads "For our Soviet homeland".
File:Наградное удостоверение к медали За оборону Одессы.jpg|alt=Certificate "For taking part in the heroic defense of Odessa" Logvinov Petr Leontievich was awarded the Medal for the Defense of Odessa.|Certificate "For taking part in the heroic defense of Odesa"; Logvinov Petr Leontievich was awarded the Medal for the Defense of Odesa.
</gallery>

=== Postwar Soviet period ===
[[File:RIAN archive 171693 Fleet of whalers lying up in Odessa port.jpg|upright|thumb|Ships at anchor in Odesa – the USSR's largest port, 1960]]

During the 1960s and 1970s, the city grew. Nevertheless, the majority of Odesa's Jews emigrated to [[Israel]], the United States and other Western countries between the 1970s and 1990s.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} Many ended up in the [[Brooklyn]] neighborhood of [[Brighton Beach]], sometimes known as "Little Odesa". Domestic migration of the Odesan middle and [[Social class|upper classes]] to Moscow and [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]], cities that offered even greater opportunities for career advancement, also occurred on a large scale. Despite this, the city grew rapidly by filling the void of those left with new migrants from rural Ukraine and industrial professionals invited from all over the Soviet Union.

[[File:Russov House Odessa2020.png|thumb|The city is currently undergoing a phase of widespread urban restoration: Russov House in 2020.]]
As a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the city preserved and somewhat reinforced its unique cosmopolitan mix of Russian/Ukrainian/Jewish culture and a predominantly [[Russophone]] environment with the [[Odesan Russian|uniquely accented dialect of Russian spoken in the city]]. The city's unique identity has been formed largely thanks to its varied demography; all the city's communities have influenced aspects of Odesan life in some way or form.

=== Independence of Ukraine ===
In the [[1991 Ukrainian independence referendum]] 85.38% of Odesa Oblast voted for independence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ukrainian Independence Referendum |date=28 September 2015 |url=https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/the-end-of-the-soviet-union/the-end-of-the-soviet-union-texts/ukrainian-independence-declaration/ |access-date=20 November 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414065531/https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/the-end-of-the-soviet-union/the-end-of-the-soviet-union-texts/ukrainian-independence-declaration/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Odesa is a city of more than 1 million people. The city's industries include shipbuilding, [[oil refinery|oil refining]], chemicals, metalworking, and food processing. Odesa is also a Ukrainian [[Ukrainian Navy|naval]] base and home to a [[fishing fleet]]. It is known for its large outdoor market – the [[Seventh-Kilometer Market]], the largest of its kind in Europe.

Odesa was a contender for hosting [[UEFA Euro 2012|Euro 2012]] football matches in, but lost the competition to other cities in Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Дніпропетровськ і Одеса втратили ЧЄ, бо не виконали взяті зобов'язання |url=https://www.unian.ua/euro2012/222978-dnipropetrovsk-i-odesa-vtratili-che-bo-ne-vikonali-vzyati-zobovyazannya.html |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=www.unian.ua |language=uk |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331214319/https://www.unian.ua/euro2012/222978-dnipropetrovsk-i-odesa-vtratili-che-bo-ne-vikonali-vzyati-zobovyazannya.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city saw violence in the [[2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine]] during the [[2014 Odesa clashes]]. The [[2014 Odesa clashes#2 May city centre clashes and Trade Unions House fire|2 May 2014 Odesa clashes]] between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian protestors killed 42 people. Four were killed during the protests, and at least 32 trade unionists were killed after a trade union building was set on fire after Molotov cocktails exchange between sides.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2 May 2014|title=Ukraine clashes: dozens dead after Odessa building fire|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/02/ukraine-dead-odessa-building-fire|access-date=16 October 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=3 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503014148/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/02/ukraine-dead-odessa-building-fire|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Canada|date=2 May 2014|title=At least 35 killed in Odessa, Ukraine, as building set on fire|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/ukrainian-helicopters-shot-down-pilots-killed-as-violence-breaks-out-in-eastern-city/article18385793/|url-status=dead|access-date=22 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506162417/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/ukrainian-helicopters-shot-down-pilots-killed-as-violence-breaks-out-in-eastern-city/article18385793/|archive-date=6 May 2014}}</ref> Polls conducted from September to December 2014 found no support for joining Russia.<ref name=DT150103>{{cite news|url=https://dt.ua/UKRAINE/lishe-3-ukrayinciv-hochut-priyednannya-yih-oblasti-do-rosiyi-160641_.html|title=Лише 3% українців хочуть приєднання їх області до Росії|language=uk|trans-title=Only 3% of Ukrainians want their region to become part of Russia|work=[[Dzerkalo Tyzhnia]]|date=3 January 2015|access-date=20 January 2021|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106223654/https://dt.ua/UKRAINE/lishe-3-ukrayinciv-hochut-priyednannya-yih-oblasti-do-rosiyi-160641_.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Odesa was struck by three bomb blasts in December 2014, one of which killed one person (the injuries sustained by the victim indicated that he had dealt with explosives).<ref name=Shkiryak>[http://mashable.com/2014/12/27/ukraine-blasts/ Two dead after Ukraine rocked by series of blasts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128111107/http://mashable.com/2014/12/27/ukraine-blasts/ |date=28 January 2015 }}, [[Mashable]] (28 December 2014)<br />[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/241835.html Interior minister's advisor says Kharkiv, Odesa explosions aim at escalating tensions in Ukraine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230005503/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/241835.html |date=30 December 2014 }}, [[Interfax-Ukraine]] (25 December 2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/bomb-explosion-in-odessa-could-have-targeted-volunteer-organization-for-ukraine-army/513053.html Bomb Explosion in Odessa Could Have Targeted Ukraine Army Charity Point] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318230918/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/bomb-explosion-in-odessa-could-have-targeted-volunteer-organization-for-ukraine-army/513053.html |date=18 March 2015 }}, [[The Moscow Times]] (10 December 2014)</ref> Internal Affairs Ministry advisor [[Zorian Shkiryak]] said on 25 December that Odesa and Kharkiv had become "cities which are being used to escalate tensions" in Ukraine. Shkiryak said that he suspected that these cities were singled out because of their "geographic position".<ref name=Shkiryak/> On 5 January 2015 the city's [[Euromaidan]] Coordination Center and a cargo train car were (non-lethally) bombed.<ref name="Bomb Odesa 4115">[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/world/europe/francois-hollande-says-destabilizing-sanctions-on-russia-must-stop-now.html French Leader Urges End to Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005042804/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/world/europe/francois-hollande-says-destabilizing-sanctions-on-russia-must-stop-now.html |date=5 October 2021 }}, [[New York Times]] (5 January 2015)<br />[http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/latest-explosion-in-odessa-strikes-pro-ukraine-organization/514043.html Latest Explosion in Odessa Strikes Pro-Ukraine Organization (Video)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113044414/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/latest-explosion-in-odessa-strikes-pro-ukraine-organization/514043.html |date=13 January 2015 }}, [[The Moscow Times]] (5 January 2015)<br />[http://mashable.com/2015/01/05/explosion-in-odessa-ukraine/ Mysterious bombing rocks Ukrainian port city of Odessa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114080936/http://mashable.com/2015/01/05/explosion-in-odessa-ukraine/ |date=14 January 2015 }}, [[Mashable]] (5 January 2015)</ref>

Until 18 July 2020, Odesa was incorporated as a [[city of regional significance (Ukraine)|city of oblast significance]]. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Odesa Oblast to seven, the city of Odesa was merged into newly established Odesa Raion.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ.|url=http://www.golos.com.ua/article/333466|access-date=3 October 2020|date=18 July 2020|website=Голос України|language=uk|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709121303/http://www.golos.com.ua/article/333466|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Нові райони: карти + склад |url=https://www.minregion.gov.ua/press/news/novi-rajony-karty-sklad/ |publisher=Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України |language=Ukrainian |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302224321/https://www.minregion.gov.ua/press/news/novi-rajony-karty-sklad/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the city [[2022 bombing of Odesa|faced some Russian bombing attacks]]. On 23 April 2022, Russian troops bombarded Odesa with cruise missiles. They destroyed both the city's military infrastructure and residential buildings, killing eight people and wounding another eighteen people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Унаслідок ракетного удару по Одесі загинуло п'ятеро людей, серед них – немовля |url=https://www.slovoidilo.ua/2022/04/23/novyna/suspilstvo/unaslidok-raketnoho-udaru-po-odesi-zahynulo-pyatero-lyudej-sered-nyx-nemovlya |access-date=5 August 2022 |website=Слово і Діло |language=uk |archive-date=5 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805140404/https://www.slovoidilo.ua/2022/04/23/novyna/suspilstvo/unaslidok-raketnoho-udaru-po-odesi-zahynulo-pyatero-lyudej-sered-nyx-nemovlya |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Росія обстріляла Одесу крилатими ракетами, є влучання в об'єкти інфраструктури |url=https://www.unian.ua/war/rosiyski-viyskovi-obstrilyali-odesu-krilatimi-raketami-novini-odesi-11798160.html |access-date=5 August 2022 |website=www.unian.ua |language=uk |archive-date=5 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805140403/https://www.unian.ua/war/rosiyski-viyskovi-obstrilyali-odesu-krilatimi-raketami-novini-odesi-11798160.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, the Russian military destroyed more than 1,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> of the territory of the cemetery.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 April 2022 |title=Russia-Ukraine. The Russians shot at the cemetery and the house in Odessa |url=https://polishnews.co.uk/russia-ukraine-the-russians-shot-at-the-cemetery-and-the-house-in-odessa/ |access-date=5 August 2022 |website=Polish News |language=en-GB |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216040320/https://polishnews.co.uk/russia-ukraine-the-russians-shot-at-the-cemetery-and-the-house-in-odessa/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The city suffered further aerial attacks on regional infrastructure facilities in October 2022, cutting off power to 10,500 households and injuring three people.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cepa.org/article/sirens-and-flaming-shots-life-in-wartime-odesa/ | title=Sirens and Flaming Shots — Life in Wartime Odesa | date=26 October 2022 | access-date=1 November 2022 | archive-date=1 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101154046/https://cepa.org/article/sirens-and-flaming-shots-life-in-wartime-odesa/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

On 25 January 2023, [[UNESCO]] announced that the historical city center of Odesa was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. In order to provide technical and financial assistance if needed, it was also included into the [[List of World Heritage in Danger|list of world heritage sites in danger]].<ref>{{cite web
 |language     = en
 |url          = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64408145
 |title        = Ukraine's Odesa designated Unesco World Heritage site
 |publisher    = BBC
 |date         = 26 January 2023
 |access-date   = 26 January 2022
 |archive-date = 26 January 2023
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230126120016/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64408145
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |language     = en
 |url          = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/26/ukraines-odesa-the-pearl-of-the-black-sea-added-to-unesco-world-heritage-list
 |title        = Ukraine's Odesa, the 'pearl of the Black Sea', added to Unesco World Heritage list
 |work         = The Guardian
 |date         = 26 January 2023
 |access-date   = 26 January 2022
 |archive-date = 26 January 2023
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230126120014/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/26/ukraines-odesa-the-pearl-of-the-black-sea-added-to-unesco-world-heritage-list
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

== Geography ==
=== Location ===
[[File:Воронцовський маяк.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Vorontsov Lighthouse]] in the Gulf of Odesa. The city is located on the Black Sea.]]
Odesa is located ({{Coord|46|28|N|30|44|E|type:city(1,012,500)_region:UA}}) in the [[Black Sea Lowland]] in [[Southern Ukraine]] which being part of the greater [[Eastern European Plain]] gradually slopes towards the [[Black Sea]] and the [[Sea of Azov]]. The city lies on the northwestern coast of the [[Black Sea]] along the southwestern shore of the [[Gulf of Odesa]], approximately {{convert|31|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of the estuary of the [[Dniester]] river and some {{convert|443|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of the Ukrainian capital [[Kyiv]]. The international border between Ukraine and the [[Republic of Moldova]] lies some {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of the city.

The city is situated on terraced hills overlooking a small harbor. The average elevation at which the city is located is around {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=off}}. The maximum is {{convert|65|m|ft|abbr=off}} and minimum (on the coast) amounts to {{convert|4.2|m|1|abbr=off}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]]. There are three large [[estuary|estuaries]] near the city: [[Kuialnyk Estuary|Kuialnyk]], [[Khadzhibey Estuary|Khadzhibey]] and [[Sukhyi Estuary|Sukhyi]].

The city currently covers a territory of {{convert|162.42|km²|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="zakon.rada.gov.ua">{{cite web|url=https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3064-iii?lang=en|language=uk|website=zakon.rada.gov.ua|title=About change area of Odesa city|access-date=22 April 2020|archive-date=23 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723123133/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3064-iii?lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The population density for which is around 6,139 persons/km<sup>2</sup>. Sources of running water in the city include the Dniester River, from which water is taken and then purified at a processing plant just outside the city. Being located in the south of Ukraine, the topography of the area surrounding the city is typically flat and there are no large mountains or hills for many kilometres around. Flora is of the deciduous variety and Odesa is known for its tree-lined avenues which, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, made the city a favourite year-round retreat for the Russian aristocracy.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

The city's location on the coast of the [[Black Sea]] has also helped to create a booming tourist industry in Odesa.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} The city's Arkadia beach has long been a favourite place for relaxation, both for the city's inhabitants and its visitors.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} This is a large sandy beach which is located to the south of the city centre. Odesa's many sandy beaches are considered to be quite unique in Ukraine,{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} as the country's southern coast (particularly in the Crimea) tends to be a location in which the formation of stoney and pebble beaches has proliferated.

The coastal cliffs adjacent to the city are home to frequent [[landslide]]s, resulting in a typical change of landscape along the Black Sea. Due to the fluctuating slopes of land, city planners are responsible for monitoring the stability of such areas, and for preserving potentially threatened building and other structures of the city [[above sea level]] near water.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cherkez|first1=E. A.|last2=Dragomyretska|first2=O. V.|last3=Gorokhovich|first3=Y.|date=11 November 2006|title=Landslide protection of the historical heritage in Odessa (Ukraine) |journal=Landslides|volume=3|issue=4|pages=303–309|doi=10.1007/s10346-006-0058-8|bibcode=2006Lands...3..303C |s2cid=17314959}}</ref> Also a potential danger to the infrastructure and architecture of the city is the presence of multiple openings underground. These cavities can cause buildings to collapse, resulting in a loss of money and business.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} Due to the effects of climate and weather on sedimentary rocks beneath the city, the result is instability under some buildings' foundations.

{{Panorama
| image = File:Odessa panorama.jpg
| fullwidth = 2400
| fullheight = 518
| caption = {{center|A [[Panorama|panoramic]] view of central Odesa, as seen from the [[Black Sea]]}}
| alt = 
| height = 250
}}

=== Climate ===
Odesa has a hot-summer [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfa'', using the {{convert|0|C|disp=sqbr}} isotherm), bordering a [[Cold semi-arid climate|cold semi-arid]] (''BSk'') as well as a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa''). This has, over the past few centuries, aided the city greatly in creating conditions necessary for the development of summer [[tourism in Ukraine|tourism]]. During the tsarist era, Odesa's climate was considered to be beneficial for the body, and thus many wealthy but sickly persons were sent to the city in order to relax and recuperate. This resulted in the development of [[spa]] culture and the establishment of a number of [[luxury hotel]]s in the city. The average annual temperature of the sea is {{convert|13|-|14|C}}. Seasonal sea temperatures range from an average of {{convert|6|C}} from January to March, to {{convert|23|C}} in August. Typically, for a total of 4 months – from June to September – the average sea temperature in the Gulf of Odesa and the city's bay area exceeds {{convert|20|C}}.<ref name="weather2travel">{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/ukraine/odessa.php|title=Odessa Climate Guide|access-date=5 June 2009|archive-date=5 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005121556/http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/ukraine/odessa.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city typically experiences dry, cold winters which are relatively mild when compared to most of Ukraine, as they are marked by temperatures that rarely fall below {{convert|-10|C}}. Summers see an increased level of precipitation, and the city often experiences warm weather with temperatures often reaching the high 20s and low 30s °C. [[Snow]] cover is light to moderate due to the city's location on the northern coast of the Black Sea, and municipal services rarely experience problems that can often be found in other, more northern Ukrainian cities. The city hardly ever faces [[sea ice]] formation.

{{Weather box
|location = Odesa (1991–2020, extremes 1894–present)
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
| Jan record high C = 15.7
| Feb record high C = 19.2
| Mar record high C = 24.8
| Apr record high C = 29.4
| May record high C = 33.3
| Jun record high C = 37.2
| Jul record high C = 39.3
| Aug record high C = 38.0
| Sep record high C = 35.4
| Oct record high C = 31.1
| Nov record high C = 26.0
| Dec record high C = 16.9
| year record high C = 39.3
| Jan high C = 2.3
| Feb high C = 3.4
| Mar high C = 7.7
| Apr high C = 13.6
| May high C = 20.3
| Jun high C = 25.1
| Jul high C = 27.9
| Aug high C = 27.7
| Sep high C = 21.8
| Oct high C = 15.3
| Nov high C = 9.1
| Dec high C = 4.2
| year high C = 14.9
| Jan mean C = -0.4
| Feb mean C = 0.4
| Mar mean C = 4.3
| Apr mean C = 10.0
| May mean C = 16.2
| Jun mean C = 20.8
| Jul mean C = 23.4
| Aug mean C = 23.1
| Sep mean C = 17.8
| Oct mean C = 12.0
| Nov mean C = 6.3
| Dec mean C = 1.5
| year mean C = 11.3
| Jan low C = -2.7
| Feb low C = -2.1
| Mar low C = 1.6
| Apr low C = 6.9
| May low C = 12.6
| Jun low C = 16.9
| Jul low C = 19.1
| Aug low C = 18.5
| Sep low C = 14.0
| Oct low C = 8.9
| Nov low C = 3.9
| Dec low C = -0.8
| year low C = 8.1
| Jan record low C = -26.2
| Feb record low C = -28.0
| Mar record low C = -16.0
| Apr record low C = -5.9
| May record low C = 0.3
| Jun record low C = 5.2
| Jul record low C = 7.5
| Aug record low C = 7.9
| Sep record low C = -0.8
| Oct record low C = -13.3
| Nov record low C = -14.6
| Dec record low C = -19.6
| year record low C = -28.0
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 43
| Feb precipitation mm = 35
| Mar precipitation mm = 35
| Apr precipitation mm = 28
| May precipitation mm = 39
| Jun precipitation mm = 47
| Jul precipitation mm = 45
| Aug precipitation mm = 40
| Sep precipitation mm = 44
| Oct precipitation mm = 37
| Nov precipitation mm = 39
| Dec precipitation mm = 38
| year precipitation mm = 470
| Jan snow depth cm = 2
| Feb snow depth cm = 2
| Mar snow depth cm = 1
| Apr snow depth cm = 0
| May snow depth cm = 0
| Jun snow depth cm = 0
| Jul snow depth cm = 0
| Aug snow depth cm = 0
| Sep snow depth cm = 0
| Oct snow depth cm = 0
| Nov snow depth cm = 0
| Dec snow depth cm = 1
| year snow depth cm = 2
| Jan rain days = 9
| Feb rain days = 7
| Mar rain days = 10
| Apr rain days = 11
| May rain days = 12
| Jun rain days = 13
| Jul rain days = 10
| Aug rain days = 8
| Sep rain days = 9
| Oct rain days = 10
| Nov rain days = 13
| Dec rain days = 10
| year rain days = 122
| Jan snow days = 11
| Feb snow days = 10
| Mar snow days = 6
| Apr snow days = 0.4
| May snow days = 0
| Jun snow days = 0
| Jul snow days = 0
| Aug snow days = 0
| Sep snow days = 0
| Oct snow days = 0.2
| Nov snow days = 4
| Dec snow days = 9
| year snow days = 41
| Jan humidity = 82.5
| Feb humidity = 80.7
| Mar humidity = 78.4
| Apr humidity = 74.5
| May humidity = 71.0
| Jun humidity = 70.6
| Jul humidity = 66.0
| Aug humidity = 65.4
| Sep humidity = 71.8
| Oct humidity = 77.1
| Nov humidity = 81.9
| Dec humidity = 83.6
| year humidity = 75.3
| Jan sun = 55
| Feb sun = 88
| Mar sun = 153
| Apr sun = 219
| May sun = 299
| Jun sun = 315
| Jul sun = 348
| Aug sun = 323
| Sep sun = 239
| Oct sun = 158
| Nov sun = 63
| Dec sun = 48
| year sun = 
|source 1 = Pogoda.ru<ref name = pogoda>{{cite web
| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33837.htm
| script-title = ru:Погода и Климат – Климат Одессы
| trans-title = Weather and Climate – The Climate of Odesa
| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)
| language = ru
| access-date = 8 November 2021
| archive-date = 16 August 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130816220319/http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33837.htm
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[NOAA]] (humidity 1981–2010, sun 1991–2020)<ref name=WMOCLINO>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210717143555/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-VI/Ukraine/12.6.%20WMO_Normals_Excel_Template%20%282%29.xls
| archive-date = 17 July 2021
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-VI/Ukraine/12.6.%20WMO_Normals_Excel_Template%20(<span class="ltr">2</span>).xls
| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010
| publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |format=XLS |archive-format=XLS
| access-date = 17 July 2021}}</ref> <ref name=NOAA>{{cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Ukraine/CSV/ODESA_33837.csv |title=Odesa Climate Normals 1991–2020 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |format=CSV |access-date=1 November 2023 }}</ref>
}}

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations
|state=collapsed
|shading=on
|percentages = pagr
|1795|2349
|1800|6000
|1802|9000
|1813|35000
|1829|52000
|1832|60000
|1844|77800
|1858|104200
|1863|118900
|1873|193513
|1880|217000
|1885|240600
|1891|297600
|1897|403815
|1907|449700
|1910|506000
|1912|635000
|1914|481500
|1920|454200
|1925|325354
|1936|534000
|1939|601651
|1956|607000
|1959|667182
|1964|721000
|1970|892000
|1981|1072000
|1989|1115371
|1991|1100700
|1998|1027600
|2001|1029049
|2008|994739
|2013|1014900
|2018|1011494
|2019|1013159
|footnote=at<ref name="perepis-2001-odesa">{{Cite web|url=http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/rus/results/total_population/structure_population/sel_1/?box=1.1W&k_t=51&rn=51101&id=&botton=cens_db|title=Âñåóêðà¿íñüêèé ïåðåïèñ íàñåëåííÿ 2001&#124;Ðóññêàÿ âåðñèÿ&#124;Ðåçóëüòàòû&#124;×èñëåííîñòü è òåððèòîðèàëüíîå ðàçìåùåíèå íàñåëåíèÿ&#124;×èñëåííîñòü íàëè÷íîãî íàñåëåíèÿ è åãî ðàñïðåäåëåíèå ïî ïîëó&#124;Ðåçóëüòàò âûáîðà|website=2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua|access-date=7 March 2020|archive-date=20 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120131043/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/rus/results/total_population/structure_population/sel_1/?box=1.1W&k_t=51&rn=51101&id=&botton=cens_db|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="brokg-evfr">{{ВТ-ЭСБЕ|Одесса}}</ref><ref name="bolsh-sov-encycl">{{cite web |title = Одесса в Большой советской энциклопедии |url = http://cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/083/686.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070107052358/http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/083/686.htm |archive-date = 7 January 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="perepis-2001-ukraine">{{Cite web|url=http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/rus/results/general/city/|title=Âñåóêðà¿íñüêèé ïåðåïèñ íàñåëåííÿ 2001&#124;Ðóññêàÿ âåðñèÿ&#124;Ðåçóëüòàòû&#124;Îñíîâíûå èòîãè ïåðåïèñè&#124;Êîëè÷åñòâî ãîðîäîâ|website=2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua|access-date=7 March 2020|archive-date=3 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503064709/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/rus/results/general/city|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Статья в журнале『Держава』"Сколько действительно населения в Одессе?" |url = http://2000.net.ua/print/derzhava/skolkodejstvitelnonaselen.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185108/http://2000.net.ua/print/derzhava/skolkodejstvitelnonaselen.html |archive-date = 30 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

===Historical ethnic and national composition===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Russian Empire Census|1897]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=1665|title=Демоскоп Weekly – Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей.|work=demoscope.ru|access-date=16 April 2015|archive-date=23 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123225611/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=1665|url-status=live}}</ref>
# [[Russians]]: 198,233 people (49.09%)
# [[Jews]]: 124,511 people (30.83%)
# [[Ukrainians]]: 37,925 people (9.39%)
# [[Polish people|Poles]]: 17,395 people (4.31%)
# [[Germans]]: 10,248 people (2.54%)
# [[Greeks]]: 5,086 people (1.26%)
# [[Tatars]]: 1,437 people (0.36%)
# [[Armenians]]: 1,401 people (0.35%)
# [[Belarusians]]: 1,267 people (0.31%)
# [[French people|French]]: 1,137 people (0.28%)
* [[Soviet Census (1926)|1926]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_26.php?reg=2119/ |title=Данные Всесоюзной переписи населения 1926 года по регионам республик СССР |publisher=Demoscope.ru |access-date=22 May 2014 |archive-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704182736/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_26.php?reg=2119/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
# [[Russians]]: 162,789 people (39.97%)
# [[Jews]]: 153,243 people (36.69%)
# [[Ukrainians]]: 73,453 people (17.59%)
# [[Polish people|Poles]]: 10,021 people (2.40%)
# [[Germans]]: 5,522 people (1.32%)
# [[Belarusians]]: 2,501 people (0.60%)
# [[Armenians]]: 1,843 people (0.44%)
# [[Greeks]]: 1,377 people (0.33%)
# [[Bulgarians]]: 1,186 people (0.28%)
# [[Moldovans]]: 1,048 people (0.25%)
* [[Soviet Census (1939)|1939]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_39_ra.php?reg=336 |title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Национальный состав населения районов, городов и крупных сел союзных республик СССР |publisher=Demoscope.ru |access-date=15 April 2015 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110060722/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_39_ra.php?reg=336 |url-status=live }}</ref>
# [[Jews]]: 200,961 people (33.26%)
# [[Russians]]: 186,610 people (30.88%)
# [[Ukrainians]]: 178,878 people (29.60%)
# [[Polish people|Poles]]: 8,829 people (1.46%)
# [[Germans]]: 8,424 people (1.39%)
# [[Bulgarians]]: 4,967 people (0.82%)
# [[Moldovans]]: 2,573 people (0.43%)
# [[Armenians]]: 2,298 people (0.38%)
* [[1941 Romanian census|1941]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Recensămintele României: 1899–1992 |publisher=Editura Meronia |year=2002 |pages=358 |language=ro}}</ref>
# [[Ukrainians]]: 120,945 people (49.45%)
# [[Russians]]: 92,584 people (37.85%)
# [[Germans]]: 8,643 people (3.53%)
# [[Polish people|Poles]]: 7,488 people (3.06%)
# [[Bulgarians]]: 4,928 people (2.01%)
# [[Moldovans]]: 3,224 people (1.32%)
# [[Tatars]]: 436 people (0.18%)
# [[Lipovans]]: 429 people (0.17%)
* [[2001 Ukrainian census|2001]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/Odesa|title=Всеукраїнський перепис населення 2001&nbsp;-&nbsp;English version&nbsp;-&nbsp;Results&nbsp;-&nbsp;General results of the census&nbsp;-&nbsp;National composition of population&nbsp;-&nbsp;Odesa region|work=ukrcensus.gov.ua|access-date=16 April 2015|archive-date=23 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023045009/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/Odesa|url-status=live}}</ref>
# [[Ukrainians]]: 622,900 people (61.6%)
# [[Russians]]: 292,000 people (29.0%)
# [[Bulgarians]]: 13,300 people (1.3%)
# [[Jews]]: 12,400 people (1.2%)
# [[Moldovans]]: 7,600 people (0.7%)
# [[Belarusians]]: 6,400 people (0.6%)
# [[Armenians]]: 4,400 people (0.4%)
# [[Polish people|Poles]]: 2,100 people (0.2%)

{{div col end}}

[[File:Odessa Ethnicity 1897-2015.png|thumb|394x394px|Historic ethnic and national composition of Odesa]]

[[Odesa Oblast]] is also home to many different nationalities and minority [[ethnic group]]s, including [[Albanians]], [[Armenians]], [[Azeris]], [[Crimean Tatars]], [[Bulgarians]], [[Georgians]], [[Greeks]], [[Jews]], [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Romani people|Roma]], [[Romanians]], [[Turkish people|Turks]], among others.<ref name=Census2001/> Up until the early 1940s the city had a large Jewish population. As the result of [[Holocaust|mass deportation to extermination camps]] during the [[Second World War]], the city's Jewish population declined considerably. Since the 1970s, the majority of the remaining Jewish population [[Aliyah|emigrated to Israel]] and other countries, shrinking the Jewish community.

Through most of the 19th century and until the mid-20th century, the largest ethnic group in Odesa was [[Russians]], with the second largest ethnic group being [[Jews]].<ref>Dnistryansky, М.S. (2006) Этнополитическая география Украины = Етнополітична географія України. – Лівів: Літопис, видавництво ЛНУ імені Івана Франка. p. 342. – {{ISBN|966-7007-60-X}}</ref>

The peculiarity of the ethnic composition of the modern population of the city of Odesa is its ethnic diversity. According to the [[2001 Ukrainian census]], [[Ukrainians]] made up 62% of the Odesa's inhabitants, [[Russians]] 29%, Bulgarians 6.1%, Moldovans 5%, Gagauz 1.1%, Jews 0.6%, Belarusians 0.5%, Armenians 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, Poles, Germans, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Tartars, Greeks, Albanians and Arabs each 0.1%, and 1.9% were people of other nationalities.<ref name=Census2001>{{cite web |url=http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/general/nationality/odesa/ |title=All-Ukrainian Census of 2001 Official Site |publisher=2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua |access-date=22 May 2014 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020081456/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/general/nationality/odesa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A 2015 study by the [[International Republican Institute]] found that 68% of Odesa's population were ethnic Ukrainians, and 25% were ethnic Russians.<ref name=iri1/>

=== Language ===
Distribution of the population of the city of Odesa by [[First language #Defining "native language"|native language]] according to the [[2001 Ukrainian census|2001 census]]:<ref>{{cite web | lang=uk | url=https://socialdata.org.ua/projects/mova-2001/ | title=Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України}}</ref>
{| class="standard"
|-
! Language
! Number
! Percentage
|-
| [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
| align="right"| 307 196 ||align="right"| 30.41%
|-
| [[Russian language in Ukraine|Russian]]
| align="right"| 654 128 || align="right"| 64.75%
|-
| Other or undecided
| align="right"| 48 974 || align="right"| 4.84%
|-
| Total
| align="right"| 1 010 298 || align="right"| 100.00%
|}

According to the Seventh Annual Ukrainian Municipal Survey, 96% of the residents of Odesa spoke some Russian at home and 29% spoke some Ukrainian at home (overlap due to a lot of people speaking both languages). [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] is gaining in popularity: in 2021, the share of residents speaking some Ukrainian at home has increased almost 5 times from 6% in 2015 to 29% in 2021.<ref name=iri2>{{cite journal|title=Seventh Ukrainian Municipal Survey, May 12–June 3, 2021|journal=IRI|url=https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/seventh_municipal_survey_may_2021_eng_-_v2.pdf|access-date=11 November 2021|archive-date=28 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128104615/https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/seventh_municipal_survey_may_2021_eng_-_v2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=iri1>{{cite journal|title=Ukrainian Municipal Survey, March 2–20, 2015|journal=IRI|url=http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/2015-05-19_ukraine_national_municipal_survey_march_2-20_2015.pdf|access-date=27 May 2015|archive-date=28 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128012638/https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/2015-05-19_ukraine_national_municipal_survey_march_2-20_2015.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to a survey conducted by the [[International Republican Institute]] in April–May 2023, 53% of the city's population has higher or incomplete higher education, 16% spoke Ukrainian at home and 80% spoke Russian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ratinggroup.ua/files/ratinggroup/reg_files/municipal_survey_may_2023_ua_-_final.pdf|title=Municipal Survey 2023|website=ratinggroup.ua|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-date=19 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719164824/https://ratinggroup.ua/files/ratinggroup/reg_files/municipal_survey_may_2023_ua_-_final.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=July 2023}} 

58% of [[Odesa Oblast]]'s population consider Ukrainian their native language,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Більше половини жителів Одещини вважають українську мову рідною — дослідження |work=Суспільне Новини |url=https://suspilne.media/415236-bilse-polovini-ziteliv-odesini-vvazaut-ukrainsku-movu-ridnou-doslidzenna/ |access-date=14 July 2023 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926073357/https://suspilne.media/415236-bilse-polovini-ziteliv-odesini-vvazaut-ukrainsku-movu-ridnou-doslidzenna/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and 39% of population in Ukraine's South who consider Ukrainian their native language mostly speak Russian at home.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Свобода |first=Радіо |date=10 March 2023 |title=За рік в Україні кількість українськомовних зросла до 71% – опитування |language=uk |work=Радіо Свобода |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-ukrayinska-mova-opytuvannia/32311809.html |access-date=14 July 2023 |archive-date=14 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714080936/https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-ukrayinska-mova-opytuvannia/32311809.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a sociological survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation from 10 to 21 July 2023 in Odesa Oblast, the share of respondents who speak Ukrainian at home has increased to 42% (from 26% in 2021), while the share of those who speak Russian at home has dropped to 54%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dif.org.ua/article/demokratiya-bezpeka-ta-sotsialne-stanovishche-dumka-respondentiv-v-odeskiy-oblasti-u-2023-rotsi#_Toc150261406 | title=Демократія, безпека та соціальне становище: думка респондентів в Одеській області у 2023 році }}</ref>

== Government and administrative divisions ==
[[File:Будівля старої біржі, Одеса DSC8077.jpg|thumb|[[Odesa City Hall]], the seat of the city's municipal authorities]]
Odesa is the [[Capital city|administrative centre]] of [[Odesa Raion]] and [[Odesa Oblast]], and it is the only constituent of [[Odesa urban hromada]], one of the [[hromada]]s of Ukraine.<ref name="admreform_2020_odesa">{{cite web |title=Одесская громада |url=https://gromada.info/ru/obschina/odesa/ |publisher=Портал об'єднаних громад України |language=ru |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327111242/https://gromada.info/ru/obschina/odesa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city of Odesa is governed by a mayor and city council which work cooperatively to ensure the smooth-running of the city and procure its municipal bylaws. The city's budget is also controlled by the administration.

The mayoralty<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.odessa.ua/ua/mayor |title=Official Website of the city administration: Structure of the Mayorality |publisher=Odessa.ua |date=1 April 2008 |access-date=28 October 2011 |archive-date=19 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019092343/http://www.odessa.ua/ua/mayor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> plays the role of the executive in the city's municipal administration. Above all comes the mayor, who is elected, by the city's electorate, for five years in a direct election. [[2015 Ukrainian local elections#Odesa|2015 Mayoral election of Odesa]] [[Gennadiy Trukhanov|Hennadii Trukhanov]] was reelected in the first round of the election with 52,9% of the vote.<ref name="en.interfax.com.ua">{{cite web|url=http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/299747.html|title=Incumbent Odesa Mayor Trukhanov declared winner in Sunday mayoral election|work=interfax.com.ua|access-date=28 October 2015|archive-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029104751/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/299747.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Trukhanov was again reelected in the second round of the [[2020 Ukrainian local elections#Odesa|2020 Mayoral election of Odesa]] when 54.28% of the voters voted for him.<ref name="tyzhden.ua/post/249910">{{in lang|uk}} [https://tyzhden.ua/post/249910 Trukhanov officially won the mayoral election in Odesa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216040325/https://tyzhden.ua/post-covid-19-rozvytok-kyieva-v-umovakh-hlobalnykh-vyklykiv-obhovoriat-na-investytsijnomu-forumi-mista-kyieva/ |date=16 December 2023 }}, [[The Ukrainian Week]] (17 November 2020)</ref>

There are five deputy mayors, each of which is responsible for a certain particular part of the city's public policy.
[[File:Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary b42 726-0.jpg|right|thumb|An old map of Odesa's city centre. North is to the left.]]
The City Council<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.odessa.ua/council/ |title=Official Website of the city administration: City Council |publisher=Odessa.ua |date=14 July 2011 |access-date=28 October 2011 |archive-date=12 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112060628/http://www.odessa.ua/council/ |url-status=live }}</ref> of the city makes up the administration's [[legislative]] branch, thus effectively making it a city 'parliament' or [[rada]]. The municipal council is made up of 120 elected members,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.odessa.ua/ua/council/members/ |title=City Council members |publisher=Odessa.ua |date=1 April 2008 |access-date=28 October 2011 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075812/http://www.odessa.ua/ua/council/members/ |url-status=live }}</ref> who are each elected to represent a certain district of the city for a four-year term. The current council is the fifth in the city's modern history, and was elected in January 2011. In the regular meetings of the municipal council, problems facing the city are discussed, and annually the city's budget is drawn up. The council has seventeen standing commissions<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.odessa.ua/council/commissions/ |title=Official Website of the city administration, Standing commissions of the City Council |publisher=Odessa.ua |date=1 April 2008 |access-date=28 October 2011 |archive-date=15 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015164802/http://www.odessa.ua/council/commissions/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which play an important role in controlling the finances and trading practices of the city and its merchants.

The territory of Odesa is divided into four administrative [[Urban districts of Ukraine|urban districts]] (raions):
* Kyivskyi District
* Khadzhybeiskyi District
* Prymorskyi District
* Peresypskyi District

In addition, every district has its own administration, subordinate to the Odesa [[City council]], and with limited responsibilities.

== Cityscape ==
{{Panorama
|image=File:Primorskiy-bulvar-7-8-5.jpg
|fullwidth=10215
|fullheight=1816
|caption={{center|A [[Panorama|panoramic]] view of Prymorsky Boulevard, at the top of the [[Potemkin Stairs]]}}
|alt=
|height=243
}}
{{further|Odesa catacombs}}
[[File:Opera2011.jpg|thumb|The [[Baroque architecture#Rome and Southern Italy|Italian baroque]] facade of the [[Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre|Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater]]. It was started with the important contribution of the [[Italians of Odesa]]]]

Many of Odesa's buildings have, rather uniquely for a Ukrainian city, been influenced by the Mediterranean style of classical architecture. This is particularly noticeable in buildings built by architects such as the Italian [[Francesco Boffo]], who in the early 19th-century built a palace and colonnade for the Governor of Odesa, Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, the [[Odesa Fine Arts Museum|Potocki Palace]] and many other public buildings.

In 1887 one of the city's most well known architectural monuments was completed – the theatre, which still hosts a range of performances to this day; it is widely regarded as one of the world's finest opera houses. The first opera house was opened in 1810 and destroyed by fire in 1873. The modern building was constructed by [[Ferdinand Fellner|Fellner]] and [[Hermann Helmer|Helmer]] in [[Baroque Revival architecture|neo-baroque]]; its luxurious hall was built in the [[rococo]] style. It is said that thanks to its unique acoustics, even a whisper from the stage can be heard in any part of the hall. The theatre was projected along the lines of Dresden's [[Semperoper]] built in 1878, with its nontraditional foyer following the curvatures of the auditorium; the building's most recent renovation was completed in 2007.<ref>Buildings for Music, Michael Forsythe, Cambridge University Press, p. 344 {{ISBN|9780521268622}}</ref>

Odesa's most iconic symbol, the [[Potemkin Stairs]], is a vast staircase that conjures an illusion so that those at the top only see a series of large steps, while at the bottom all the steps appear to merge into one pyramid-shaped mass. The original 200 steps (now reduced to 192) were designed by Italian architect Francesco Boffo and built between 1837 and 1841. The steps were made famous by [[Sergei Eisenstein]] in his film, ''[[Battleship Potemkin]]''.

Most of the city's 19th-century houses were built of [[limestone]] mined nearby. Abandoned mines were later used and broadened by local [[smuggling|smugglers]]. This created a gigantic, complicated [[labyrinth]] of tunnels beneath Odesa, known as the [[Odesa catacombs]]. During World War II, the catacombs served as a hiding place for [[Partisan (military)|partisans]] and natural shelter for civilians, who were escaping airplane bombing.

[[Derybasivska Street]], an attractive pedestrian avenue named after [[José de Ribas]], the Neapolitan-born founder of Odesa and decorated Russian Navy Admiral from the Russo-Turkish War, is famous by its unique character and architecture.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} During the summer it is common to find large crowds of people leisurely sitting and talking on the outdoor terraces of numerous cafés, bars and restaurants, or simply enjoying a walk along the cobblestone street, which is not open to vehicular traffic and is kept shaded by the linden trees which line its route.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odessaapartments.dompavlov.com/content/deribasovskaya/ |access-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead |title=Deribasovskaya Street|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104105310/http://www.odessaapartments.dompavlov.com/content/deribasovskaya/ |archive-date=4 January 2012 }}</ref> A similar streetscape can also be found in that of Prymorsky Bulvar, a grand thoroughfare which runs along the edge of the plateau upon which the city is situated, and where many of the city's most imposing buildings are to be found.

As one of the biggest on the Black Sea, Odesa's port is busy all year round. The Odesa Seaport is located on an artificial stretch of the Black Sea coast, along with the north-western part of the Gulf of Odesa. The total shoreline length of Odesa's seaport is around {{convert|7.23|km|2|abbr=out}}. The port, which includes an oil refinery, container handling facility, passenger area and numerous areas for handling dry cargo, is lucky in that its work does not depend on seasonal weather; the harbour itself is defended from the elements by breakwaters. The port is able to handle up to 14 million tons of cargo and about 24 million tons of oil products annually, whilst its passenger terminals can cater for around 4 million passengers a year at full capacity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odessaapartments.dompavlov.com/content/odessa-passage/ |access-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead |title=The Passage|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104104712/http://www.odessaapartments.dompavlov.com/content/odessa-passage/ |archive-date=4 January 2012 }}</ref>

As Odesa has been inhabited by peoples of different religions, it has a variety of religious buildings, such as the Orthodox [[Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa|Transfiguration Cathedral]], Catholic [[Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral, Odesa|Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral]], Lutheran St. Paul's Church, [[Brodsky Synagogue (Odesa)|Brodsky Synagogue]], and [[Al-Salam Mosque, Odesa|Al-Salam Mosque]]. There is also a number of historic cemeteries,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Головна |url=https://www.pomnim.od.ua/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=Місця скорботи Одеси}}</ref> including the Cossack [[Kuialnyk Cemetery]].

In late 2022 one of the city's former central landmarks, the [[monument to the founders of Odesa]] with its statue of [[Catherine the Great]], was dismantled and temporarily moved to the [[Odesa Fine Arts Museum]].<ref name="dismantlemonumentOdesa3624865">{{Cite web|title=Odesa deputies back decision to dismantle monument to Catherine II|url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3624865-odesa-deputies-back-decision-to-dismantle-monument-to-catherine-ii.html|date=30 November 2022|access-date=30 November 2022|website=[[Ukrinform]]|language=English|archive-date=30 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130152755/https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3624865-odesa-deputies-back-decision-to-dismantle-monument-to-catherine-ii.html|url-status=live}}<br>{{Cite web|title=Odesa City Council finally agreed to demolish the monument to Catherine (''Одеська міськрада нарешті погодилася знести пам'ятник Катерині'')|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/11/30/7378612/|date=30 November 2022|access-date=30 November 2022|website=[[Ukrainska Pravda]]|language=uk|archive-date=30 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130105931/https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/11/30/7378612/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Parks and gardens ===
[[File:Primorskiy Parkway.jpg|thumb|right|A park at Prymorskiy prospekt in Odesa]]
There are a number of public parks and gardens in Odesa, among these are the Preobrazhensky, Gorky and Victory parks, the latter of which is an arboretum. The city is also home to a university botanical garden, which recently celebrated its 200th anniversary, and a number of other smaller gardens.

The [[Odesa city garden|City Garden]], or Gorodskoy Sad, is perhaps the most famous of Odesa's gardens. Laid out in 1803 by Felix De Ribas (brother of the founder of Odesa, José de Ribas) on a plot of urban land he owned, the garden is located right in the heart of the city. When Felix decided that he was no longer able to provide enough money for the garden's upkeep, he decided to present it to the people of Odesa in 1806.<ref>{{cite web |first=Oleg |last=Gubar |url=https://www.odessitclub.org/publications/almanac/alm_27/alm_27_28-45.pdf |title=How was the City Garden formed? |publisher=Odessitclub |date=2011 |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=29 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229191643/https://www.odessitclub.org/publications/almanac/alm_27/alm_27_28-45.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The garden is home to a bandstand and is the traditional location for outdoor theater in the summertime. Numerous sculptures can also be found within the grounds, as well as a musical fountain, the waters of which are computer controlled to coordinate with the musical melody being played.

Odesa's largest park, [[Shevchenko Park (Odesa)|Shevchenko Park]] (previously Alexander Park), was founded in 1875, during a visit to the city by [[Alexander II of Russia|Emperor Alexander II]]. The park covers an area of around {{convert|700|by|900|m|ft|abbr=off}} and is located near the centre of the city, on the side closest to the sea. Within the park there are a variety of cultural and entertainment facilities, and wide pedestrian avenues.

In the center of the park is the local top-flight football team's [[Chornomorets Stadium]], the Alexander Column and municipal observatory. The Baryatinsky Bulvar is popular for its route, which starts at the park's gate before winding its way along the edge of the coastal plateau. There are a number of monuments and memorials in the park, one of which is dedicated to the park's namesake, the Ukrainian national poet [[Taras Shevchenko]].

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Украина, Одесса - Свято-Преображенский кафедральный собор 02.jpg|The city's Preobrazhensky Park surrounds its cathedral.
File:Odessa AlexanderII colomn and spruce tree.jpg|The Alexander Column in [[Shevchenko Park (Odesa)|Schevchenko Park]]
File:Украина, Одесса - Приморский бульвар, 11.jpg|The [[Londonskaya Hotel]], on Odesa's magnificent Prymorsky Bulvar, is one of the city's landmark buildings.
File:Odesa Olgivska-4 0-1.jpg|alt=The main building of the Odesa National Medical University|The main building of the [[Odesa National Medical University]]
</gallery>

== Education ==
[[File:Odesa National scientific library-03.jpg|thumb|The [[Odesa National Scientific Library]] is a major research library and the centre for studies in southern Ukraine.]]
Odesa is home to several universities and other institutions of higher education. The city's best-known and most prestigious university is the [[Odesa University|Odesa 'I.I. Mechnykov' National University]]. This university is the oldest in the city and was first founded by an edict of Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia]] in 1865 as the Imperial [[Novorossiya Governorate|Novorossian]] University. Since then the university has developed to become one of modern Ukraine's leading research and teaching universities, with staff of around 1,800 and total of thirteen academic faculties. Other than the National University, the city is also home to the 1921-inaugurated [[Odesa National Economics University|Odesa National Economic University]], the [[Odesa National Medical University]] (founded 1900), the 1918-founded [[Odesa National Polytechnic University]].

In addition to these universities, the city is home to the [[National University Odesa Law Academy|National University "Odesa Law Academy"]], the National Academy of Telecommunications, the [[Odesa State Environmental University]] and the [[National University «Odesa Maritime Academy»|Odesa National Maritime Academy]]. The last of these institutions is a highly specialised and prestigious establishment for the preparation and training of merchant mariners which sees around 1,000 newly qualified officer cadets graduate each year and take up employment in the [[merchant marine]]s of numerous countries around the world. The South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University is also based in the city, this is one of the largest institutions for the preparation of educational specialists in Ukraine and is recognised as one of the country's finest of such universities.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In addition to all the state-run universities mentioned above, Odesa is also home to many private educational institutes and academies which offer highly specified courses in a range of different subjects.

With regard to primary and secondary education, Odesa has many schools catering for all ages from kindergarten through to lyceum (final secondary school level) age. Most of these schools are state-owned and operated, and all schools have to be state-accredited in order to teach children.

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Odesa}}

=== Museums, art and music ===
[[File:Odessa arheological museum.JPG|thumb|The [[Odesa Archeological Museum|Odesa Archaeological Museum]] was designed in the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical style]] just like many other landmarks of the city.]]
[[Odesa Fine Arts Museum|Fine Arts museum]] is the biggest art gallery in the city, which collection includes canvas mostly of Russian painters from 17th-21st centuries, icon collection and modern art. The [[Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art]] is big art museum; it has large European collections from the 16–20th centuries along with the art from the East on display. There are paintings from [[Caravaggio]], [[Pierre Mignard|Mignard]], [[Frans Hals|Hals]], Teniers and Del Piombo.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Travel/Travel-News/Odessa-The-Star-of-Exile|title=Odessa: The Star of Exile|work=jpost.com|access-date=18 February 2023|archive-date=18 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218182904/https://www.jpost.com/Travel/Travel-News/Odessa-The-Star-of-Exile|url-status=live}}</ref>

Of note is Odesa's [[Odesa Pushkin Museum|Alexander Pushkin Museum]], which is dedicated to detailing the short time [[Alexander Pushkin|Pushkin]] spent in exile in Odesa, a period during which he continued to write.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Pushkin, Alexander |volume= 22 |last= Morfill |first= William Richard |author-link= William Richard Morfill | pages = 668&ndash;669 }}</ref> The poet also has a city street named after him, as well as a statue.<ref name="auto"/> Other museums in the city include the [[Odesa Archeological Museum]], which is housed in a neoclassical building, the [[Odesa Numismatics Museum]], the [[Odesa Museum of Regional History|Odesa Museum of the Regional History]], Museum of Heroic Defense of Odesa (411th Battery).

Among the city's public sculptures, two sets of ''[[Medici lions]]'' can be noted, at the [[Vorontsov Palace (Odesa)|Vorontsov Palace]]<ref>[[:Commons:Category:Medici lions at Vorontsov palace in Odesa]]</ref> as well as in the [[Starosinnyi Garden]].<ref>[[:Commons:File:Starosinnyi Garden.JPG]]</ref>
[[File:Pushkin Monument, Odessa.jpg|thumb|The Pushkin Monument, Odesa, 1889, [https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/features/watsons_russia.html Department of Image Collections], National Gallery of Art Library, [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[Jacob Pavlovich Adler|Jacob Adler]], the major star of the [[Yiddish theatre]] in New York and father of the actor, director and teacher [[Stella Adler]], was born and spent his youth in Odesa. The most popular Russian show business people from Odesa are [[Yakov Smirnoff]] (comedian), [[Mikhail Zhvanetsky]] (legendary [[List of humorists|humorist]] writer, who began his career as a port engineer) and [[Roman Kartsev]] (comedian). Zhvanetsky's and Kartsev's success in the 1970s, along with Odesa's [[KVN]] team, contributed to Odesa's established status as "capital of Soviet humor", culminating in the annual [[Humorina|Humoryna]] festival, carried out around the beginning of April.

Odesa was also the home of the late Armenian painter [[Sarkis Ordyan]] (1918–2003), the Ukrainian painter [[Mickola Vorokhta]] and the Greek philologist, author and promoter of [[Modern Greek|Demotic Greek]] [[Ioannis Psycharis]] (1854–1929). [[Yuri Siritsov]], bass player of the Israeli Metal band PallaneX is originally from Odesa. [[Igor Glazer]] Production Manager [[Baruch Agadati]] (1895–1976), the Israeli classical ballet dancer, choreographer, painter, and film producer and director grew up in Odesa, as did Franco-Israeli École de Paris painter and sculptor [[Yitzhak Frenkel|Isaac Frenkel Frenel]], Israeli artist and author [[Nachum Gutman]] (1898–1980). Israeli painter [[Avigdor Stematsky]] (1908–89) was born in Odesa.

[[File:Bunina-15-135.jpg|thumb|The main hall of the Odesa Philharmonic Society's theatre]]
Odesa produced one of the founders of the Soviet violin school, [[Pyotr Stolyarsky]]. It has also produced many musicians, including the violinists [[Nathan Milstein]], [[David Oistrakh]] and [[Igor Oistrakh]], [[Boris Goldstein]], [[Zakhar Bron]] and pianists [[Sviatoslav Richter]], [[Benno Moiseiwitsch]], [[Vladimir de Pachmann]], [[Shura Cherkassky]], [[Emil Gilels]], [[Maria Grinberg]], [[Simon Barere]], [[Leo Podolsky]] and [[Yakov Zak]]. (Note: Richter studied in Odesa but was not born there.)

The [[Odesa International Film Festival]] is also held in this city annually since 2010.
{{Further|Union Concert Hall, Odesa|label1=Union Concert Hall}}

=== Literature ===
[[File:Одеса 189115.JPG|thumb|The [[School of Stolyarsky]], founded in 1933, has long been recognised as a centre of musical excellence.]]
Poet [[Anna Akhmatova]] was born in Bolshoy Fontan near Odesa,<ref name="anderson">{{cite book|last= Anderson|first= Nancy K.|author2=Anna Andreevna Akhmatova|title= The word that causes death's defeat|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|isbn= 0-300-10377-8}}</ref> however her further work was not connected with the city and its literary tradition. Odesa has produced many writers, including [[Isaak Babel|Isaac Babel]], whose series of short stories, [[Odessa Tales]], are set in the city. Other Odesans are the duo [[Ilf and Petrov]]—authors of ''[[The Twelve Chairs]]'', and [[Yury Olesha|Yuri Olesha]], author of "[[The Three Fat Men]]". [[Vera Inber]], a poet and writer, as well as the poet and journalist [[Margarita Aliger]], were both born in Odesa. The Italian writer, Slavist and [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] dissident [[Leone Ginzburg]] was born in Odesa into a Jewish family, and then went to Italy where he grew up and lived. The Hebrew author and poet Haim Bialik established a publishing house and worked in the city from the 1890s to 1911.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-18 |title=Insightful Biography of Hebrew Poet H. N. Bialik Misses Key Element |url=https://forward.com/culture/372334/insightful-biography-of-hebrew-poet-h-n-bialik-misses-key-element/ |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-06 |title=Israel’s national poet Bialik honored in Odessa |url=https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-features/israels-national-poet-bialik-honored-in-odessa-327989 |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref>

One of the most prominent pre-war [[Russian literature|Soviet writers]], [[Valentin Kataev]], was born here and began his writing career as early as high school (gymnasia). Before moving to Moscow in 1922, he made quite a few acquaintances here, including [[Yury Olesha]] and [[Ilf and Petrov|Ilya Ilf]] (Ilf's co-author Petrov was in fact Kataev's brother, Petrov being his pen-name). Kataev became a benefactor for these young authors, who would become some of the most talented and popular [[List of Russian language writers|Russian writers]] of this period. In 1955 Kataev became the first [[editing|chief editor]] of the ''Youth'' ({{lang-ru|link=no|Юность, Yunost'}}), one of the leading [[literary magazine|literature magazines]] of the [[Khrushchev Thaw|Ottepel]] of the 1950s and 1960s. {{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

These authors and comedians played a great role in establishing the "Odesa myth" in the Soviet Union. Odesans were and are viewed in the ethnic stereotype as sharp-witted, street-wise and eternally optimistic.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} These qualities are reflected in the "Odesa dialect", which borrows chiefly from the characteristic speech of the Odesan Jews, and is enriched by a plethora of influences common for the port city.<ref name="auto1">{{cite book|last=Tanny|first=Jarrod|title=City of Rogues and Schnorrers: Russia's Jews and the Myth of Old Odessa|year=2011|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=978-0-253-22328-9|pages=13–22, 142–156|url=http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=650630|access-date=12 February 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113836/http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=650630|url-status=live}}</ref>

The "Odesite speech" became a staple of the "Soviet Jew" depicted in a multitude of jokes and comedy acts, in which a Jewish adherent served as a wise and subtle dissenter and opportunist, always pursuing his own [[Quality of life|well-being]], but unwittingly pointing out the flaws and absurdities of the Soviet regime. The Odesan Jew in the jokes always "came out clean" and was, in the end, a lovable character – unlike some of other jocular nation stereotypes such as The Chukcha, The Ukrainian, The Estonian or The American.<ref name="auto1"/>

=== Resorts and health care ===
[[File:Beach-Chayka-aerial-4.jpg|thumb|An aerial image of Beach Chayka]]
[[File:Odessa Arcadia Plaza Beach Sea Water Sweaming Pool.JPG|thumb|Beaches of [[Arcadia (Odesa)|Arcadia]]]]
Odesa is a popular [[tourist destination]], with many therapeutic [[resort]]s in and around the city. The city's [[The Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases & Tissue Therapy|Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases & Tissue Therapy]] is one of the world's leading [[ophthalmology]] clinics.

=== Celebrations and holidays ===
[[File:В Одесі відбулися урочистості з нагоди святкування Дня Військово-Морських Сил ЗС України (27798398360).jpg|thumb|[[Ukrainian Navy]] Honour Guards during the [[Navy Day (Ukraine)|Navy Day]] celebrations in Odesa in 2016]]
{{Further|Humorina}}
[[April Fools' Day]], held annually on 1 April, is one of the most celebrated festivals in the city. Practical joking is a central theme throughout, and Odesans dress in unique, colorful attire to express their spontaneous and comedic selves. The tradition has been celebrated since the early 1970s, when the humor of Ukraine's citizens were drawn to television and the media, further developing into a mass festival. Large amounts of money are made from the festivities, supporting Odesa's local entertainers and shops.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/world/europe/odessa-celebrates-april-fools-day.html|title=Odessa Celebrates April Fools' Day|last=Barry|first=Ellen|date=1 April 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=14 November 2016|archive-date=14 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114171159/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/world/europe/odessa-celebrates-april-fools-day.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Notable Odesans ===
* [[Pyotr Schmidt]] (1867–1906) (better known as "Lieutenant Schmidt"), one of the leaders of the [[Sevastopol Uprising|Sevastopol uprising]], was born in Odesa.
* [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]] (1880–1940), was born in Odesa, and largely developed his version of [[Zionism]] there in the early 1920s.<ref name="Noah">{{cite web|url=http://www.liberal.org.il/the_man.htm |title=Ze'ev Jabotinsky – Brief Biography |last=Nissani |first=Noah |publisher=Liberal.Org |year=1996 |access-date=9 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620113613/http://www.liberal.org.il/the_man.htm |archive-date=20 June 2009 }}</ref> A [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]], [[Rodion Malinovsky]] (1898–1967), a military commander in World War II and [[List of Ministers of Defence of the Soviet Union|Defense Minister of the Soviet Union]], was born in Odesa, whilst renowned Nazi hunter [[Simon Wiesenthal]] (1908–2005) lived in the city in 1934/1935.
* [[Hayim Nahman Bialik|Haim Nahman Bialik]] (1873 - 1934), a poet and innovator in the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Yiddish]] languages, he came to Odesa aged 18, inspired by his admiration for authors such as and [[Ahad Ha'am]] [[Mendele Mocher Sforim]] and worked there from the 1890s to 1911. He was commonly known as the national Hebrew poet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-18 |title=Insightful Biography of Hebrew Poet H. N. Bialik Misses Key Element |url=https://forward.com/culture/372334/insightful-biography-of-hebrew-poet-h-n-bialik-misses-key-element/ |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Haim Nahman Bialik: The National Poet’s Cup of Sorrows |date=2023 |work=The Poetics of Prophecy: Modern Afterlives of a Biblical Tradition |pages=152–173 |editor-last=Raz |editor-first=Yosefa |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/poetics-of-prophecy/haim-nahman-bialik-the-national-poets-cup-of-sorrows/5A0B61FA4DE6563162FB30048393CBA3 |access-date=2024-05-17 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-009-36631-1}}</ref>
* [[Yitzhak Frenkel Frenel]] (1899 - 1981), a native Odesan painter and sculptor of the [[School of Paris|École de Paris]] who brought to Israel the influence of modern art and was its first abstract artist. He emigrated to Israel on the [[Ruslan (ship)|Ruslan]] in 1919. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Endelman |first=Todd M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkrYDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA615&dq=frenkel+frenel+museum&hl=en |title=The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Volume 8: Crisis and Creativity Between World Wars, 1918-1939 |last2=Gitelman |first2=Zvi |last3=Moore |first3=Deborah Dash |date=2020-04-07 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-13552-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Manor |first=Dalia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L_x-AgAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA222&dq=yitzhak+frenkel+first+abstract+painter&hl=en |title=Art in Zion: The Genesis of Modern National Art in Jewish Palestine |date=2004-12-03 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-36782-5 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Sidney Reilly]] (ca.1873–1925), who was employed by [[William Melville]] (1850–1918) as one of the first spies of the [[British Secret Service Bureau]], was a native Odesan. Another intelligence agent from Odesa was [[Genrikh Lyushkov]] (1900–1945), who joined the Odesa [[Cheka]] in 1920 and reached two-star rank in the [[NKVD]] before fleeing to Japanese-occupied Manchuria in 1938 to avoid being murdered.
* The composer [[Jacob Weinberg]] (1879–1956) was born in Odesa. He composed over 135 works and was the founder of the Jewish National Conservatory in Jerusalem before immigrating to the U.S. where he became "an influential voice in the promotion of American Jewish music".<ref name="CT">von Rhein, John (19 August 2005). [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-08-19/entertainment/0508190207_1_american-jewish-music-milken-archive-medtner "Jacob Weinberg: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Major"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903121828/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-08-19/entertainment/0508190207_1_american-jewish-music-milken-archive-medtner |date=3 September 2014 }}. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Retrieved 29 August 2014.</ref>
* [[Valeria Lukyanova]] (born 1985), a girl from Odesa who looks very similar to a [[Barbie]] doll, has received attention on the Internet and from the media for her doll-like appearance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katyasoldak/2012/10/17/barbie-flu-spreading-in-ukraine/|title=Barbie Flu Spreading in Ukraine|work=Forbes|first=Katya|last=Soldak|date=17 October 2012|access-date=7 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020152524/https://www.forbes.com/sites/katyasoldak/2012/10/17/barbie-flu-spreading-in-ukraine/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Mikhail Zhvanetsky]] (1934–2020), writer, [[satirist]] and [[Performance art|performer]] best known for his shows targeting different aspects of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] and post-Soviet everyday life, was born in Odesa.
* [[VitaliV]] (Vitali Vinogradov) (born 1957), an artist and sculptor based in London since 1989, was born in Odesa.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vitaly (VITALIV) Vinogradov |url=https://zet.gallery/artist/vitaly-vitaliv-vinogradov-16244 |website=zet.gallery |publisher=Zet Gallery |access-date=24 May 2019 |archive-date=24 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524074856/https://zet.gallery/artist/vitaly-vitaliv-vinogradov-16244 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Kostyantyn Mykolayovych Bocharov (born 1997), better known by his stage name [[Mélovin]] is a native of Odesa. He is best known for winning season six of ''[[X-Factor (Ukrainian TV series)|X-Factor Ukraine]]'' and for representing Ukraine in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2018]], singing the song "[[Under the Ladder]]".
* [[Yaakov Dori]] (1899–1973), the first Chief of Staff of the [[Israel Defense Forces]], and President of the [[Technion – Israel Institute of Technology]], was born in Odesa, as was [[Israel Dostrovsky]] (1918–2010), Israeli physical chemist who was the fifth president of the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]].
* [[Yuriy Bazhal]] (born 1950), Ukrainian scientist, professor, academic.<ref>Академія наук вищої школи України. 1992-2010. Довідник</ref>
* [[Janka Bryl]] (1917 – 2006), Belarusian writer, was born in Odesa.<ref>[https://www.svaboda.org/a/31391609.html Already today: Birthday of Janka Bryl (Ужо сёньня: Дзень нараджэньня Янкі Брыля)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804101401/https://www.svaboda.org/a/31391609.html |date=4 August 2021 }}(in Belarusian)</ref>
* [[Vladimir de Pachmann]] (1848–1933) a pianist of Russian-German ethnicity noted for performing the works of Chopin, was from Odesa.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Pachmann, Vladimir de |volume= 20 | page = 433 |short= 1}}</ref> [[Emil Grigoryevich Gilels]] (1916–1985), widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, was born in Odesa.
* [[Stasys Pundzevičius]] (1893–1980), Chief of the [[Lithuanian Air Force]] in the interwar Lithuania, was born in Odesa.
* [[Alexander Olshanetsky]] (1892 – 1946), an American [[composer]], [[conducting|conductor]], and [[violin]]ist. He was a major figure within the [[Yiddish theatre]] scene in [[New York City]], born in Odesa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/yt/lex/O/olshanetsky-alexander.htm |title=Lives in the Yiddish Theatre. Short biographies of those involved in the Yiddish Theatre. |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Museum of Family History |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106173102/https://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/yt/lex/O/olshanetsky-alexander.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Economy ==
Odesa's economy largely stems from its traditional role as a port city. The nearly ice-free port lies near the mouths of the [[Dnieper River|Dnieper]], the [[Southern Bug]], the [[Dniester]] and the [[Danube]] rivers, which provide good links to the hinterland.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
|last= Kravtsiv
|first= Bohdan
|encyclopedia= Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine
|title= Odesa
|url= http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CO%5CD%5COdesa.htm
|access-date= 4 November 2014
|year= 2012
|publisher= Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
|quote= Odesa is situated on a large, virtually ice-free bay on the Black Sea, near the mouths of the Danube River, the Dnister River, the Boh River, and the Dnieper River, which link it with the interior of the country.
|archive-date= 3 January 2015
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150103123651/http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CO%5CD%5COdesa.htm
|url-status= live
}}</ref>
During the Soviet period (until 1991) the city functioned as the USSR's largest trading port; it continues in a similar role as independent Ukraine's busiest international port. The port complex contains an oil and gas transfer and storage facility, a cargo-handling area and a large passenger port. In 2007 the Port of Odesa handled 31,368,000 tonnes of cargo.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukrport.org.ua/members.htm |title=Ассоциация портов Украины『Укрпорт』объединяет 43 организаций |trans-title=Ukrainian Ports Association "Ukrport" unites 43 organizations |website=ukrport.org.ua |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229103802/http://www.ukrport.org.ua/members.htm |archive-date=29 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackseatrans.com/article.php?articleID=747|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109222022/http://www.blackseatrans.com/article.php?articleID=747|url-status=dead|title=Ports of Ukraine<!-- Заголовок добавлен ботом -->|archive-date=9 November 2007}}</ref>

The port of Odesa is one of the [[Ukrainian Navy]]'s most important bases on the [[Black Sea]]. Rail transport is an important sector of the economy in Odesa – largely due to the role it plays in delivering goods and imports to and from the city's port. The Container Terminal Odesa (CTO) in the port is the largest container terminal in Ukraine. It has been operated by the Hamburg-based HHLA Group since 2001 and, in addition to containers, also handles bulk goods, general cargo and project cargo. This means that Odesa is networked with the ports of [[Hamburg]], [[Muuga Harbour|Muuga]] and [[Trieste]] via the logistics group HHLA.<ref>Terminalbetreiber in Estland gekauft. In: Schiff & Hafen, 7/2018, p 9;『Hamburger Hafenkonzern investiert groß in Triest』In: Die Presse, 29 September 2020.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article189642977/HHLA-sucht-Terminals-auch-jenseits-von-Hamburg.html|title=HHLA sucht Terminals auch jenseits von Hamburg|first=Olaf|last=Preuß|date=1 March 2019|via=www.welt.de|access-date=9 February 2021|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121062128/https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article189642977/HHLA-sucht-Terminals-auch-jenseits-von-Hamburg.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Одеса, Вулиця Дерибасівська 29 2018 02.jpg|thumb|Hotel Grand Moscow in Odesa]] 
Industrial enterprises located in and around the city include those dedicated to fuel refinement, machine building, metallurgy, and other types of light industry such as food preparation, timber plants and chemical industry. Agriculture is a relatively important sector in the territories surrounding the city. The [[Seventh-Kilometer Market]] is a major commercial complex on the outskirts of the city where private traders now operate one of the largest market complexes in Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.odessa-info.com.ua/about/ |title=Одесса &#124; о городе |publisher=Odessa-info.com.ua |access-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524221429/http://www.odessa-info.com.ua/about/ |archive-date=24 May 2013}}</ref> The market has roughly 6,000 traders and an estimated 150,000 customers per day.

Daily sales, according to the Ukrainian periodical ''[[Dzerkalo Tyzhnia]]'', were believed to be as high as US$20 million in 2004. With a staff of 1,200 (mostly guards and janitors), the market is also the region's largest employer. It is owned by local land and agriculture [[tycoon]] Viktor A. Dobrianskyi and three partners of his. [[Tavria-V]] is the most popular retail chain in Odesa. Key areas of [[business sector|business]] include: retail, wholesale, catering, production, construction and development, private label. Consumer recognition is mainly attributed{{by whom|date=November 2014}} to the high level of service and the quality of services. [[Tavria-V]] is the biggest private company and the biggest tax payer.
[[File:Odessabeach2018.jpg|thumb|Arkadia Beach in Odesa]]
[[Deribasivska Street]] is one of the city's most important commercial streets, hosting many of the city's boutiques and higher-end shops. In addition to this there are a number of large commercial shopping centres in the city. The 19th-century shopping gallery [[Odesa Passage|Passage]] was, for a long time, the city's most upscale shopping district, and remains {{as of | 2014 | alt = to this day}} an important landmark of Odesa.

The [[Tourism in Ukraine|tourism sector is of great importance to Odesa]], which is currently{{when|date=November 2014}} the second most-visited Ukrainian city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.ua/data/upload/publication/eu/en/2889/002_profile_sez.pdf |title=Odessa Region Profile |website=mfa.gov.ua |publisher=Odesa Regional State Administration |access-date=29 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023180441/http://www.mfa.gov.ua/data/upload/publication/eu/en/2889/002_profile_sez.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2012 }}</ref> In 2003 this sector recorded a total revenue of [[Ukrainian hryvnia|₴]]189.2 million. Other sectors of the city's economy include the banking sector: the city hosts a branch of the [[National Bank of Ukraine]]. [[Imexbank]], one of Ukraine's largest commercial banks, was based in the city, however on 27 May 2015, the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Ukraine made a decision to liquidate the bank.

Foreign business ventures have thrived in the area, as since 1 January 2000, much of the city and its surrounding area has been declared{{by whom|date=November 2014}} a [[free economic zone]] – this has aided the foundation of foreign companies' and corporations' Ukrainian divisions and allowed them to more easily invest in the Ukrainian manufacturing and service sectors. To date a number of Japanese and Chinese companies, as well as a host of European enterprises, have invested in the development of the free economic zone, to this end private investors in the city have invested a great deal of money into the provision of quality office real estate and modern manufacturing facilities such as warehouses and plant complexes.

Odesa also has a well-developed IT industry with large number of IT outsourcing companies and IT product startups. Among most famous startups is [[Looksery]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Snap became a resident of UNIT.City|url=https://ain.ua/en/2018/11/20/snap-became-a-resident-of-unit-city/|date=20 November 2018|website=AIN.UA|language=en-US|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807124123/https://ain.ua/en/2018/11/20/snap-became-a-resident-of-unit-city/|url-status=live}}</ref> and AI Factory both developed in Odesa and acquired by [[Snap Inc.|Snap inc]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Snap acquires Ukrainian startup AI Factory for $166M|url=https://ain.ua/en/2019/12/26/snap-acquires-ai-factory-for-166m/|date=26 December 2019|website=AIN.UA|language=en-US|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=15 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715140525/https://ain.ua/en/2019/12/26/snap-acquires-ai-factory-for-166m/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Oděsa, přístav, loď.jpg|alt=Odesa's port is Ukraine's busiest. The harbour remains accessible all year round and serves as a vital import/export channel for the Ukrainian economy.|Odesa's port is Ukraine's busiest. The harbour remains accessible all year round and serves as a vital import/export channel for the Ukrainian economy.
File:Deribasovskaya-33-36.jpg|The [[Odesa Passage|Passage]] galleries, one of the city's landmarks
</gallery>

== Scientists ==
A number of scientists have lived and worked in Odesa. They include: [[Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov|Illya Mechnikov]] (Nobel Prize in Medicine 1908),<ref name="Schmalstieg">{{cite journal |last=Schmalstieg |first=Frank C |author2=Goldman Armond S |date=May 2008 |title=Ilya Ilich Metchnikoff (1845–1915) and Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915): the centennial of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |journal=[[Journal of Medical Biography]] |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=96–103 |location= England|pmid= 18463079 |doi= 10.1258/jmb.2008.008006 |s2cid=25063709 }}</ref> [[Igor Tamm]] (Nobel Prize in Physics 1958), [[Selman Waksman]] (Nobel Prize in Medicine 1952), [[Dmitri Mendeleev]], [[Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov|Nikolay Pirogov]], [[Ivan Sechenov]], [[Vladimir Filatov]], [[Nikolay Umov]], [[Leonid Isaakovich Mandelstam|Leonid Mandelstam]], [[Aleksandr Lyapunov]], [[Mark Krein]], [[Alexander Smakula]], [[Waldemar Haffkine]], [[Valentin Glushko]], [[Israel Dostrovsky]], [[Catherine Chamié]], and [[George Gamow]].<ref>Gamow, George (1970) ''My time-line'', Viking, New York</ref>

== Transport ==

=== Maritime transport ===
{{further|UkrFerry|Black Sea Shipping Company}}
[[File:Украина, Одесса - Морской вокзал 22.jpg|right|thumb|Odesa has long been an important [[Black Sea]] port.]]

Odesa is a major maritime-transport hub that includes several ports including [[Port of Odesa]], [[Port of Chornomorsk]] (ferry, freight), [[Yuzhne]] (freight only). The Port of Odesa became a provisional headquarters for the [[Ukrainian Navy]], following the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014. Before the [[fall of the Soviet Union]], the Port of Odesa harbored the major Soviet cruise line [[Black Sea Shipping Company]].

Passenger ships and ferries connect Odesa with [[Istanbul]], [[Haifa]] and [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]], whilst river cruises can occasionally be booked for travel up the [[Dnieper River]] to cities such as [[Kherson]], [[Dnipro]] and [[Kyiv]].

=== Roads and automotive transport ===
[[File:Odessa road.jpg|thumb|The M05 Highway links Odesa with the nation's capital, Kyiv. The Odesa junction.]]

The first car in the Russian Empire, a [[Mercedes-Benz]] belonging to V. Navrotsky, came to Odesa from France in 1891.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} He was a popular city publisher of the newspaper ''Odesskii listok'' ("Odesa leaf").

Odesa is linked to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, by the [[M05 highway (Ukraine)|M05 Highway]], a high quality multi-lane road which is set to be re-designated, after further reconstructive works, as an 'Avtomagistral' (motorway) in the near future. Other routes of national significance, passing through Odesa, include the M16 Highway to [[Moldova]], M15 to [[Izmail]] and [[Romania]], and the [[Highway M14 (Ukraine)|M14]] which runs from Odesa, through [[Mykolaiv]] and [[Kherson]] to Ukraine's eastern border with Russia. The M14 is of particular importance to Odesa's maritime and shipbuilding industries as it links the city with Ukraine's other large deep water port [[Mariupol]] which is located in the south east of the country.

Odesa also has a well-developed system of inter-urban municipal roads and minor beltways. However, the city is still lacking an extra-urban bypass for transit traffic which does not wish to proceed through the city centre.

Intercity bus services are available from Odesa to many cities in Russia (Moscow, [[Rostov-on-Don]], [[Krasnodar]], [[Pyatigorsk]]), Germany (Berlin, Hamburg and [[Munich]]), Greece ([[Thessaloniki]] and [[Athens]]), [[Bulgaria]] ([[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] and [[Sofia]]) and several cities of [[Ukraine]] and Europe.

=== Railways ===
[[File:Будівля залізничного вокзалу 01.jpg|thumb|right|Odesa Holovna is one of Ukraine's largest railway terminals. Every day trains depart to many national and international destinations.]]

Odesa is served by a number of railway stations and halts, the largest of which is [[Odesa railway station|Odesa Holovna]] (Main Station). From this station services connect Odesa with [[Warsaw]], Prague, [[Bratislava]], Vienna, Berlin, Moscow, [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]], the cities of Ukraine and many other cities of the former USSR. The city's first railway station was opened in the 1880s. During the Second World War, the iconic building of the main station, which had long been considered to be one of the [[Russian Empire]]'s premier stations, was destroyed through enemy action.

In 1952 the station was rebuilt to the designs of A Chuprina. The current station, which is characterised by its many [[Socialist Realism|socialist-realist]] architectural details and grand scale, was renovated by the state railway operator [[Ukrainian Railways]] in 2006.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

=== Public transport ===
[[File:Tramways d'Odessa 1881.jpg|left|thumb|Share of the Belgian company "Tramways d'Odessa", issued 24 August 1881]]
[[File:Oděsa, Sofijska, tramvaj.jpg|thumb|An [[Trams in Odesa|Odesa tram]] on Sofievska Street]]

In 1881, Odesa became the first city in Imperial Russia to have steam tramway lines, an innovation that came only one year after the establishment of [[horsecar|horse tramway]] services in 1880 operated by the "Tramways d'Odessa", a Belgian owned company.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} The first [[Narrow gauge railway|metre gauge]] steam tramway line ran from Railway Station to Great Fontaine and the second one to Hadzhi Bey Liman. These routes were both operated by the same Belgian company. Electric tramway started to operate on 22 August 1907. Trams were imported from Germany.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The city's [[public transport|public transit]] system is currently made up of trams,<ref name="trams">{{cite web|url=http://www.dgmaestro.com/tram|title=Odessa Tram Themes|access-date=2 May 2006|archive-date=11 March 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311074800/http://www.dgmaestro.com/tram/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[trolleybus]]es, buses and fixed-route taxis ([[marshrutka]]s). Odesa also has a [[Aerial lift|cable car]] to [[Vidrada]] Beach,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cable car to beach "Otrada" - Odesa |url=http://wikimapia.org/6811754/Cable-car-to-beach-Otrada |access-date=21 February 2023 |website=wikimapia.org |language=en |archive-date=4 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104141617/http://wikimapia.org/6811754/Cable-car-to-beach-Otrada |url-status=live }}</ref> and recreational ferry service. There are two routes of public transport which connect Odesa Airport with the city center: trolley-bus No.14 and marshrutka No.117.<ref>[https://leodessa.com/odessa-public-transport/ Odessa tour guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003091810/https://leodessa.com/odessa-public-transport/ |date=3 October 2019 }}. leodessa.com</ref>

One additional mode of transport in Odesa is the [[Potemkin Stairs]] [[Odesa Funicular|funicular railway]], which runs between the city's Primorsky Bulvar and the sea terminal, has been in service since 1902. In 1998, after many years of neglect, the city decided to raise funds for a replacement track and cars. This project was delayed on multiple occasions but was finally completed eight years later in 2005.<ref>[http://www.odessaguide.net/sights_cablecar.en.html Odessa Sights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104141624/http://www.odessaguide.net/sights_cablecar.en.html |date=4 November 2016 }}. odessaguide.net</ref> The [[funicular]] has now become as much a part of historic Odesa as the staircase to which it runs parallel.

=== Air transport ===
[[Odesa International Airport]], which is located to the south-west of the city centre, is served by a number of airlines. The airport is also often used by citizens of neighbouring countries for whom Odesa is the nearest large city and who can travel visa-free to Ukraine.

Transit flights from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East to Odesa are offered by [[Ukraine International Airlines]] through their hub at Kyiv's [[Boryspil International Airport]].

== Sport ==
{{See also|Category:Sport in Odesa}}
[[File:Odessa Palace of Sports at Shevchenko Avenue (<span class="ltr">01</span>).jpg|thumb|The Odesa Palace of Sports]]

The most popular sport in Odesa is [[Association football|football]]. The main professional football club in the city is [[FC Chornomorets Odesa]], who play in the [[Ukrainian Premier League]]. Chornomorets play their home games at the [[Chornomorets Stadium]], an elite-class stadium which has a maximum capacity of 34,164. The second football team in Odesa is [[FC Odesa]].[[File:Odesa Chornomorets Stadium 1.jpg|thumb|Chornomorets Stadium renovated in preparation to the [[Euro 2012]]]]Basketball is also a prominent sport in Odesa, with [[BC Odesa]] representing the city in the [[Ukrainian Basketball League]], the highest tier basketball league in Ukraine. Odesa will become one of five Ukrainian cities to host the [[FIBA EuroBasket 2015|39th European Basketball Championship]] in 2015.

=== Athletes ===
The cyclist and aviator [[Sergei Utochkin]] was one of the most famous natives of Odesa in the years before the Russian Revolution. [[Chess]] player [[Efim Geller]] was born in the city. Gymnast [[Tatiana Gutsu]] (known as "The Painted Bird of Odesa") brought home Ukraine's first Olympic gold medal as an independent nation when she outscored the USA's [[Shannon Miller]] in the women's all-around event at [[1992 Summer Olympics]] in Barcelona, Spain.

Figure skaters [[Oksana Grishuk]] and [[Evgeny Platov]] won the 1994 and 1998 Olympic gold medals as well as the 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 World Championships in ice dance. Both were born and raised in the city, though they skated at first for the Soviet Union, in the Unified Team, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and then Russia. Hennadiy Avdyeyenko won a 1988 Olympic gold medal in thehigh jump, setting an Olympic record at {{convert|2.38|m|ft|2|abbr=off}}.

'''Other notable athletes:'''

{{div col}}
* [[Mykola Avilov]], Olympic champion in decathlon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich
* [[Oksana Baiul]], Olympic champion in figure skating in 1994
* [[Ihor Belanov]], European Footballer of the Year in 1986
* [[Yuriy Bilonoh]], European Athletics Championships in shot put at 2002 in Munich
* [[Leonid Buryak]] (born 1953), football coach and former Olympic bronze medal-winning player
* [[Maksim Chmerkovskiy]], professional ballroom & Latin dancer on American Dancing With the Stars
* [[Valentin Chmerkovskiy]], professional ballroom & Latin dancer on American Dancing With the Stars
* [[Charles Goldenberg]] (1911–1986), NFL All-Pro football player
* [[Viktor Kanevskyi]] (born 1936), football player and coach
* [[Svetlana Krachevskaya]], Olympic silver medalist in shot put
* [[Viacheslav Kravtsov]], NBA basketball player
* [[Lenny Krayzelburg]] (born 1975), Olympic champion swimmer
* [[Irina Krush]] (born 1983), US chess grandmaster 
* [[Artur Kyshenko]], K1 Muay Thai kickboxer
* [[Yevgeny Lapinsky]], Olympic champion in volleyball at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico
* [[Roman Pelts]], Soviet chess master
* [[Viktor Petrenko]], Olympic champion in figure skating in 1992
* [[Vladimir Portnoi]], Olympic silver and bronze medalist in gymnastics
* [[Vitaliy Pushkar]], racing driver, No. 6 in 2012 International Rally Challenge Production cup standings<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ircseries.com/drivers|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411041839/http://www.ircseries.com/drivers?category=3&sort=3|url-status=dead|title=Drivers - IRC Intercontinental Rally Challenge - Eurosport|archive-date=11 April 2013|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref>
* [[:ru:Резвой, Теодор Павлович|Theodore Rezvoy]], ocean rower, Guinness records holder (twice)
* [[Ekaterina Rubleva]], Russian ice dancing champion
* [[Yulia Ryabchinskaya]], Olympic champion in the K-1 500&nbsp;m Kayak Singles at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich
* [[Dmitry Salita]] (born 1982), boxer
* [[Michael Shmerkin]] (born 1970), Israeli competitive figure skater
* [[Elina Svitolina]] (born 1994), professional tennis player
* [[Olena Vitrychenko]], world champion in rhythmic gymnastics
* [[Andriy Voronin]] (born 1979), football manager and player
* [[Yakov Zheleznyak]], Olympic champion in 50&nbsp;m Running Target at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich
* [[Dayana Yastremska]] (born 2000), professional tennis player
{{div col end}}

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine}}
Odesa is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Міста-побратими|url=https://omr.gov.ua/ua/international/goroda-pobratimi/|website=omr.gov.ua|publisher=Odesa|language=uk|access-date=29 March 2020|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401021102/https://omr.gov.ua/ua/international/goroda-pobratimi/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{flagicon|EGY}} [[Alexandria]], Egypt (1968)
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Baltimore]], United States (1975)
* {{flagicon|GER}} [[Bremen]], Germany (2023)<ref>{{cite web|title=Dauerhafte und lebendige Partnerschaft mit Odessa aufbauen|url=https://www.senatspressestelle.bremen.de/pressemitteilungen/buergermeister-bovenschulte-dauerhafte-und-lebendige-partnerschaft-mit-odessa-aufbauen-425680?asl=bremen02.c.730.de|website=Senatspressestelle Bremen|publisher=|language=de|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|MDA}} [[Chișinău]], Moldova (1994)
* {{flagicon|ROU}} [[Constanța]], Romania (1991)
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Genoa]], Italy (1972)
* {{flagicon|ISR}} [[Haifa]], Israel (1992)
* {{flagicon|TUR}} [[Istanbul]], Turkey (1997)
* {{flagicon|IND}} [[Kolkata]], India (1986)
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Liverpool]], United Kingdom (1957)
* {{flagicon|POL}} [[Łódź]], Poland (1993)
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Marseille]], France (1973)
* {{flagicon|CYP}} [[Nicosia]], Cyprus (1996)
* {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Oulu]], Finland (1957)
* {{flagicon|GRC}} [[Piraeus]], Greece (1993)
* {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Qingdao]], China (1993)
* {{flagicon|GER}} [[Regensburg]], Germany (1990)
* {{flagicon|CRO}} [[Split, Croatia|Split]], Croatia (1964)
* {{flagicon|HUN}} [[Szeged]], Hungary (1977)
* {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Vancouver]], Canada (1944)
* {{flagicon|BUL}} [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]], Bulgaria (1958)
* {{flagicon|ARM}} [[Yerevan]], Armenia (1995)
* {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yokohama]], Japan (1968)
{{div col end}}

===Partner cities===
Odesa cooperated with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Міста-партнери|url=https://omr.gov.ua/ua/international/goroda-partneri/|website=omr.gov.ua|publisher=Odesa|language=uk|access-date=29 March 2020|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401021100/https://omr.gov.ua/ua/international/goroda-partneri/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{flagicon|BLR}} [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]], Belarus (2004)
* {{flagicon|POL}} [[Gdańsk]], Poland (1996)
* {{flagicon|LTU}} [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania (2004)
* {{flagicon|CYP}} [[Larnaca]], Cyprus (2004)
* {{flagicon|MAR}} [[Marrakesh]], Morocco (2019)
* {{flagicon|BLR}} [[Minsk]], Belarus (1996)
* {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Ningbo]], China (2008)
* {{flagicon|EST}} [[Tallinn]], Estonia (1997)
* {{flagicon|GEO}} [[Tbilisi]], Georgia (1996)
* {{flagicon|CHL}} [[Valparaíso]], Chile (2004)
* {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Vienna]], Austria (2006)
* {{flagicon|POL}} [[Warsaw]], Poland (2005)
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
* [[Kherson Governorate]]
* [[List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ukraine]]
* [[Municipal Guard (Odesa)|The Municipal Guard]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
<references />

==Cited sources==
* {{cite book |ref=Richardson |last=Richardson |first=Tanya |year=2008 |title=Kaleidoscopic Odessa: History and Place in Contemporary Ukraine |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-9563-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BmXmyel_q6EC |access-date=7 November 2009}}
* {{cite book
|last= Imperial
|first=Odesa Society of History and Artifacts
|year= 1848
|title= Notes of the Imperial Odesa Society of History and Artifacts. Vol.2
|publisher=Odesa City Typography
|location=Odesa
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UdlPAAAAcAAJ
|access-date= 29 April 2019
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Yefimenko
|first=Aleksandra
|year= 2018
|title= History of Ukraine and its people (История Украйны и ее народа)
|publisher=Litres
|isbn= 9785457887299
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ASGYCgAAQBAJ
|access-date= 29 April 2019
}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|Timeline of Odesa#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Odesa}}
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Honcharuk |first=Taras |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDoiAQAAIAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en |title=Історія Хаджибея (Одеси) 1415-1795 рр. в документах |date=2000 |publisher=АстроПринт |isbn=978-966-549-450-8 |language=uk}}
* {{Cite book |last=Гончарук Т.Г. |url=http://archive.org/details/khadzhybej1999 |title=Хаджибей-Одеса та українське козацтво (1415-1797 роки): до 210-ї річниці штурму Хаджибейського замку |last2=Гуцалюк С.Б. |last3=Сапожников І.В. |last4=Сапожникова Г.В. |date=1999}}
* {{cite book
|last= Dallin
|first= Alexander
|year= 1998
|title= Odessa, 1941–1944: A Case Study of Soviet Territory Under Foreign Rule
|publisher=Center for Romanian Studies
|location=Iaşi
|isbn= 973-98391-1-8
|url= http://odessitclub.org/en/archives/dallin/dallin.html
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120205004150/http://odessitclub.org/en/archives/dallin/dallin.html
|url-status= dead
|archive-date= 5 February 2012
|access-date= 7 November 2009
}} Complete book available online.
* {{cite book
|last= Friedberg
|first= Maurice
|year= 1991
|title= How Things Were Done in Odessa: Cultural and Intellectual Pursuits in a Soviet City
|publisher=Westview Press
|location= Boulder, CO
|isbn=0-8133-7987-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Ghervas
|first= Stella
|year= 2008
|chapter= Odessa et les confins de l'Europe: un éclairage historique
|publisher=Editions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme
|location= Paris
|isbn= 978-2-7351-1182-4
|title=Lieux d'Europe. Mythes et limites
|editor1-first= Stella
|editor1-last= Ghervas
|editor2-first= François
|editor2-last= Rosset
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Ghervas
|first= Stella
|year= 2008
|title= Réinventer la tradition. Alexandre Stourdza et l'Europe de la Sainte-Alliance
|publisher=Honoré Champion
|location= Paris
|isbn= 978-2-7453-1669-1
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Gubar
|first= Oleg
|year= 2004
|title= Odesa: New Monuments, Memorial Plaques, and Buildings
|publisher=Optimum
|location= Odesa
|isbn=966-8072-86-3
}}
* {{cite journal
 |first=Patricia
 |last=Herlihy
 |author-link=Patricia Herlihy
 |year=1979–1980
 |title=Greek Merchants in Odessa in the Nineteenth Century
 |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies
 |volume=3
 |issue=4
 |pages=399–420
 |url=http://www.huri.harvard.edu/pdf/hus_volumes/vIII-IV_1979-1980_part2.pdf
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529124420/http://www.huri.harvard.edu/pdf/hus_volumes/vIII-IV_1979-1980_part2.pdf
 |archive-date=29 May 2008
|url-status=dead
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Herlihy
|first= Patricia
|author-link=Patricia Herlihy
|year= 1987
|title= Odessa: A History, 1794–1914
|publisher=Harvard University Press
|location= Cambridge, MA
|isbn= 0-916458-15-6}} (hardcover), {{ISBN|0-916458-43-1}} (1991 paperback reprint)
* {{cite book
|last= Herlihy
|first= Patricia
|author-link=Patricia Herlihy
|year= 2002
|chapter= Commerce and Architecture in Odessa in Late Imperial Russia
|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press
|location= Baltimore
|isbn= 0-8018-6750-9
|title=Commerce in Russian Urban Culture 1861–1914
}}
* {{cite journal
|last= Herlihy
|first= Patricia
|author-link=Patricia Herlihy
|year= 2003
|title= Port Jews of Odessa and Trieste: A Tale of Two Cities
|journal= Jahrbuch des Simon-Dubnow-Instituts
|volume= 2
|pages=182–198
|publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt
|location= München
|isbn= 3-421-05522-X
}}
* {{cite book
|first= Patricia
|last= Herlihy
|author-link=Patricia Herlihy
|author2=Gubar, Oleg
|chapter= The Persuasive Power of the Odessa Myth
|title=Cities after the Fall of Communism: Reshaping Cultural Landscapes and European Identity
|editor1-first= John
|editor1-last= Czaplicka
|editor2-first= Nida
|editor2-last= Gelazis
|editor3-first= Blair A.
|editor3-last= Ruble
|publisher= Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press
|isbn= 978-0-8018-9191-5
|year= 2008
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Kaufman
|first= Bel
|author2= Oleg Gubar
|author3=Alexander Rozenboim
|editor1=Nicholas V. Iljine
|editor2=[[Patricia Herlihy]]
|year= 2004
|title= Odessa Memories
|publisher= University of Washington Press
|location= Seattle
|isbn= 0-295-98345-0
|url= https://archive.org/details/odessamemoriessa00nico
}}
* {{cite book
|last= King
|first= Charles
|year= 2011
|title= Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams
|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company
|isbn= 978-0-393-07084-2
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Kononova
|first= G.
|year= 1984
|title=Odessa: A Guide
|publisher=Raduga Publishers
|location= Moscow
|oclc= 12344892
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Makolkin
|first= Anna
|year= 2004
|title= A History of Odessa, the Last Italian Black Sea Colony
|publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]]
|location= [[Lewiston, New York]]
|isbn=0-7734-6272-4
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Mazis
|first= John Athanasios
|year= 2004
|title= The Greeks of Odessa: Diaspora Leadership in Late Imperial Russia
|series= East European Monographs
|publisher=Columbia University Press
|location= New York
|isbn= 0-88033-545-9
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Orbach
|first= Alexander
|year= 1997
|title= New Voices of Russian Jewry: A Study of the Russian-Jewish Press of Odessa in the Era of the Great Reforms, 1860–1871
|series= Studies in Judaism in Modern Times, No.&nbsp;4
|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers
|location= Leiden
|isbn=90-04-06175-4
}}
* {{cite journal
|first= Robert A.
|last= Rothstein
|year= 2001
|title= How It Was Sung in Odessa: At the Intersection of Russian and Yiddish Folk Culture
|jstor= 2697495
|journal=[[Slavic Review]]
|volume= 60
|issue= 4
|pages= 781–801
|doi= 10.2307/2697495
|s2cid= 163549178
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Skinner
|first= Frederick&nbsp;W.
|year= 1986
|chapter= Odessa and the Problem of Urban Modernization
|publisher= Indiana University Press
|location= Bloomington, Indiana
|isbn= 0-253-31370-8
|title= The City in Late Imperial Russia
|series= Indiana–Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies
|chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/cityinlateimperi00ons1
}}
* {{cite journal
|first= Roshanna P.
|last= Sylvester
|year= 2001
|title= City of Thieves: Moldavanka, Criminality, and Respectability in Prerevolutionary Odessa
|journal=Journal of Urban History
|volume= 27
|issue= 2
|pages= 131–157
|doi= 10.1177/009614420102700201
|pmid= 18333319
|s2cid= 34219426
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Tanny
|first= Jarrod
|year= 2011
|title= City of Rogues and Schnorrers: Russia's Jews and the Myth of Old Odessa
|publisher= Indiana University Press
|location= Bloomington, IN
|isbn= 978-0-253-35646-8}} (hardcover); {{ISBN|978-0-253-22328-9}} (paperback)
* {{cite book
|last= Weinberg
|first= Robert
|year= 1992
|chapter= The Pogrom of 1905 in Odessa: A Case Study
|publisher= Cambridge University Press
|location= Cambridge
|title= Pogroms: Anti-Jewish Violence in Modern Russian History
|isbn= 0-521-40532-7
|chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/pogromsantijewis00john
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Weinberg
|first= Robert
|year=1993
|title= The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the Steps
|series= Indiana–Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies
|publisher=Indiana University Press
|location= Bloomington, IN
|isbn= 0-253-36381-0
}}
** {{cite journal
|first= Patricia
|last= Herlihy
|year= 1994
|title= Review of ''The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the Steps'' by Robert Weinberg
|journal=Journal of Social History
|volume= 28
|issue= 2
|pages= 435–437
|jstor= 3788930
|doi=10.1353/jsh/28.2.435
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Zipperstein
|first= Steven&nbsp;J.
|orig-year= 1986|year= 1991
|title= The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794–1881
|publisher=Stanford University Press
|location= Palo Alto
|isbn= 0-8047-1251-4}} (hardcover), {{ISBN|0-8047-1962-4}} (paperback reprint)
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Odesa|Odesa}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Odessa |volume= 20 |last1= Kropotkin |first1= Peter Alexeivitch |author1-link=Peter Kropotkin|last2= Bealby |first2=John Thomas | pages = 3&ndash;4 }}
* {{curlie|Regional/Europe/Ukraine/Provinces/Odesa_Oblast/Odesa}}
* [https://omr.gov.ua/ Official Odesa web page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513051739/https://omr.gov.ua/ |date=13 May 2020 }} {{In lang|uk|ru}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100811014942/http://www.citymap.odessa.ua/map/?lang=1 Official Odesa Map Portal] {{In lang|en|uk|ru}}
* [https://www.eway.in.ua/en/cities/odesa Map of the current public transport routes in Odesa] {{In lang|en|uk|ru}}
* [http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=292 The murder of the Jews of Odessa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129221902/http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=292 |date=29 January 2022 }} during [[World War II]], at [[Yad Vashem]] website.
* [https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e224090/Place/Odessa The Jewish Community of Odessa], [[The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160722140647/http://prospekt.estate/odessa-vchera-odessa-segodnya Odesa yesterday. Odesa today. Images gallery. Prospekt Group]

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