Statue of Graf Vorontsov, Odesa

Graf Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov died on November 6, 1856, and buried in Odesa Cathedral. Soon after his death, the "Society of Agriculture of South Russia" whose president he was, unanimously adopted a proposal to erect a monument to him. The Society appealed to Alexander II of Russia for permission to start collecting of money via subscription for the construction of a monument.The highest permission was granted, and a subscription inside the whole empire was successful. On the way to Odesa the ship was towed by the steamship Alexander, employed by the Society of Shipping and Trade. Despite strong winds increasing the loss of stability due to bigger stones being placed on the deck due to the inability to load them into the hold, the blocks arrived safely. On arrival in Odesa the stone blocks were moved via oak rollers, which were placed under the huge stone blocks to the monument site. According to the expenses report of the Committee all summary offerings collected were 45,072 rubles 12 kopecks, including 13,134 rubles 50 kopecks in Odesa. The sculptor Friedrich Brugger received 21,125 rubles 18 kopecks, the pedestal's stones cost 15,000 rubles, and the finishing of the pedestal cost 5,097 rubles 23 kopecks. ==Opening ceremony==

The opening of the monument took place on November 8, 1863. Local newspaper '' (Odesa herald'') wrote: On the 8 of November, the day of St. Michael, Odesa celebrated the opening of a monument of His Serene Highness Knyaz Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. In the morning of this day the vast Sobor Square, where the monument to the departed Knyaz was erected after seven years from the day of his death, was filled with dense crowd total up to 20,000 souls. All parts of the Square, all surrounding streets, all windows, balconies and roofs of the houses were dappled with people. An extensive temporary platform for the audience was constructed at the house of Mr. Mimi, directly opposite the Cathedral. About noon, after the Divine Liturgy which was carried out in the Cathedral be the Most Reverend Dimitriy, the Kherson and Odesa archbishop, the procession ... had moved from the Cathedral and took the marked for her places around the monument, which were arranged by 4 platform: for the clergy, for the Generalitat, for local and non-resident citizens. :During the ceremony following persons attended: Novorossiya and Bessarabia General-Governor and Commander of the Odesa Military District General-Adjutant Mr. Kotzebue, General-Adjutant Graf Stroganoff, Odesa provost, teachers of educational and charitable institutions, members of the nobility, the clergy, the deputation from different cities, from the German and Bulgarian colonies, from Tatars, the patriarchs of the city, artisans who worked on the construction of the monument, the disabled, who served under the command of the departed Knyaz M.S. Vorontsov, army troops ... The following members of the House of Knyaz Vorontsov were Her Serene Highness Knyaginya E.K. Vorontsova and the son of Knyaz M.S. Vorontsov, His Serene Highness Knyaz S.M. Vorontsov". The ritual of monument consecration was carried out by the church servants. During the ceremony solemn eulogies sounded and there were fireworks, ending with a troops parade. The monument quickly became a tourist attraction. ==Description==

fortress keys from the enemy during the Russian-Turkish war. . The statue mounted on the tetrahedral pedestal of polished and shiny dark green with whitish and blackish speckles Crimean diorite. • the second scene has the inscription "Varna in 1828" and celebrates the hand over of the keys to Varna during the Russian-Turkish war. Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov is in the center. • The third scene is inscribed "For the General-Governor of Novorossiya Region and Bessarabia, 1823-1854" and pictures the abundance of agriculture and trade during the Vorontsov period in Odesa. • The dedication plaque reads "To His Serene Highness Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov from grateful countrymen in 1863". The fence of the monument consisted 12 cast-iron pedestals decorated with coats of arms of the city and connected by chains. The arms of the city were chipped ruthlessly and savagely. Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov on Sobor Square in Odesa before 1914 ==Formation of the Soviet Union ==

Around 1935 the Sobor Square was renamed The Square of the 10th anniversary of the Red Army. In the second part of 1930s, the Soviet authorities tried to pull down the statue but the thick steel chain, which was secured around to the monument and to a powerful tractor, broke. ==World War II==

At the start of World War II the anti-aircraft guns were installed in the Square, close to the monument, to protect Odesa from the bombing. After World War II the bronze statue of Stalin was erected in the Square on the 10th anniversary of the Red Army, side by side with the statue of Graf Vorontsov. A construction in the form of a miniature map of the Soviet Union including rivers and hydroelectric power plants was posted close to this statue. ==After the dissolution of the Soviet Union==

By December 31, 1991, the few remaining Soviet institutions that had not been taken over by Russia ceased operation, and individual republics assumed the central government's role, and the historical memories began to come back. The original bas-reliefs and inscription were returned to the Statue of Knyaz Vorontsov. Then as a monument to the monumental art of national importance, as a monument to urban planning and architecture of local importance according to the decision of the Executive Committee of the Odesa Regional Council dated 27 of December, 1991, the number 580; and finally as per Resolution of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine dated 3 of September, 2009, the State number 928. But on 11 November 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine removed the statue from the register of monuments in order to comply with 2023 derussification-laws. This law prohibits toponymy that symbolizes or glorifies Russia, individuals who carried out aggression against Ukraine (or another country), as well as totalitarian policies and practices related to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, including Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories. ==References==