In News Paper Ukraine

In News Paper Ukraine

In News Paper Ukraine

Posted on: December 02, 2011 - 12:13 pm
by Admin

Odessa is a major port on the Ukrainian border of the Black Sea. In the eighteenth century the region on the Black Sea that now contains Odessa was under Turkish rule. When the Russians took over in 1792, they moved quickly to establish Odessa as a port. Compared to most cities in the Ukraine and Russia, Odessa has an overwhelmingly European feel to it. The Duc de Richelieu is credited with the early design and building of this city, having fled, from the French Revolution, where he had been a prominent member of the Royal Government. He was offered a position in the Russian army, and was invited, by Czar Alexander I, to become governor of the province of Odessa.

Early Odessa was the home for many exiles, and gained special economic importance and privileges as a port, being one of the main entry points for Southern European and Middle Eastern trade to the Russian Empire, and so became a rich and very elegant city. French was spoken alongside Russian. The late 19th century and most of the 20th century, however, were not so kind to Odessa, with the Crimean war, several workers' uprisings, persecution of minorities, the famous Potemkin massacre, and numerous atrocities and changes of government during the second world war. However the climate is excellent and the Black Sea resorts were developed as places for relaxation in the 1950s. Much of the architecture and appearance of this city has been frozen in time, providing an excellent snapshot of what an affluent city would have looked like one hundred and fifty years ago. Eventually, with the break up of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became independent of Russia. However Odessa's architectural, cultural and economic zenith was in the 19th century.