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Odessa Says Welcome

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A.A. GUYVORON

Translated by A. A. Driomin

Second Edition Revised & Enlarged

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THE BLUEST SEA...

I greet you from the distant shores of the North Sea and thank you for your wonderful description of the sea. For me it is the most wonderful story, the finest of all I had ever read, and I read a lot...

These lines were addressed by Hans Mainers of Nordenham (Federal Germany) to a sixteen-year old schoolgirl, Rimma Imamutdinova of the Crimea, the author of a story, called THE SEA. This story brought its author the first prize at the International Contest of Children's Literature.

The story was published on the pages of numerous foreign newspapers and magazines. Our schoolgirl wrote:

"I think the one who has never seen the sea will never really know the beauty of the Earth. It's impossible to describe it as it is.

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It is quiet and soft, near and far, warm and cool. But I like the sea even when it is stormy and noisy, when it is fierce and angry, cold and icy, high and low, so high sometimes that it even floods the settlements of the fishermen, and this is bad. But the sea is bad very seldom, extremely seldom. Sometimes it becomes so tender, so tender, and so sweet, so sweet as one's mother. It pats and caresses the sand, it unceasingly tells the beads, moving the pebbles from place to place to make them round."

But most of all Rimma likes a quiet sea. A young couple had a quarrel, but the quiet and tender sea had quickly reconciled them. Happily holding their hands, they ran along the shore. How wonderful would it be if misunderstandings among nations of our planet would as quickly and as easily disappear...

On passing the narrows of the Bosporus, an endless expanse of the Black Sea suddenly opens up before you. It is the sea which was so tenderly described by the Crimean schoolgirl.

It is always extremely pleasant to travel by sea: the change of places and impressions, fresh breezes and fascinating sights of the sea, the pleasant sound of the waves as your ship rolls gently to and fro are but a few things that cruising usually offers.

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Yachts at sea

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The endless shores of the Soviet Union are washed by 14 seas and 3 oceans. But among these the most hospitable and beautiful is certainly the Black Sea. Cruising here is especially favourable during the Summer and Autumn seasons. At this time the sea is always calm and endowed with a clear sky while the prevailing breezes make even the hottest summer day quite bearable.

The region of the Black Sea assembles in itself, by privilege of Nature, all the elements of attraction and comfort which can favour a person selecting and preferring this place. The sea lies in a huge bowl, the edges of which, for the most part, are steep and begin to spread out only at a depth of about 200 m. Its deepest part - 2,245 m (about 7,000 ft) is found along a line running from Cape ??sones to the coast of Asia Minor. The total surface area of the Black Sea is 413,488 sq. km. (168,500 sq. miles). Its greatest length from west to east is 1,149 kms (716 miles), and from north to south - between the tip of the Crimean peninsula and the Anatolian coast of Turkey - is 263 kms. (164 miles). It receives the drainage of a considerable part of southern U.S.S.R. comprising about 400 cu. km. per annum. Compared with its own area, the area which drains into the Black Sea is

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is very large, and hence the specific gravity of its surface layers, as compared with fresh water, is only 1,014 to 1,000. If you were to notice the waterline of your ship, you would come to observe an interesting fact: a ship loaded to the waterline in the ports of the Black Sea becomes underloaded when in the Mediterranean.

Although the temperature of the surface changes with seasons, It depths greater than 200 fathoms (365m8) it is fairly constant at 48°F.

Marine life in the Black Sea extends to a depth of about 100 fathoms (182m9) only; below. this depth there is actually no life, and the water is charged

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with [sulpher etted] hydrogen. The reason for this is that the deeper layers of the Black Sea are fed only by the saline undercurrent from the Mediterranean. The volume of water thus introduced annually into the Black Sea is a very small fraction of the total volume of water in that sea, so that while the surface water is continually being renewed by river water and direct precipitation, the water at greater depths is only renewed, as a whole, once over an extremely long period of time, one estimate of this being 2,500 years. This water is, therefore, very deficient in oxygen.

In remote geological times what are now the Black, Azov and Caspian seas was a gulf of the ancient Mediterranean, which extended from the Atlantic far to the east, as far as the Arctic and Indian oceans, and covered the territory of Southern Europe, North Africa and Central Asia.

In the Tertiary period, when the great tectonic upheavals gave rise to the Himalayas, Alps and Caucasian mountain ranges and the deep valleys intersecting them, the ancient sea retreated and formed separate basins. One of these was transformed in the course of time into the vast, inland, almost fresh-water Sarmathian Ocean, which extended from the Alps to the Tien-Shan mountains. Geological processes

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Foreigners on a tour of the port

repeatedly changed the contours of this sea. At times it became broken up into isolated basins, only to merge again into a single large reservoir without any link with the oceans. In post-glacial times the Black Sea linked up with the Mediterranean. Later, with the rise of the Caucasian range, it became separated from the Caspian, and the Azov Sea, the bays and lakes in the Sivash area took shape.

The name of the sea itself is comparatively new. From ancient chronicles we know that as far back as the IX-VIII centuries B. C. this

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sea was already known to the ancient world. As early as in the VIIth century B. C. the first Greek settlements made their appearance on the northern and eastern coasts of the Black Sea. The first newcomers from the south were met by icy gales and squalls while the coast line itself was. icebound. The Tauri who in habited the Crimean coast then were just as inhospitable and repulsed every attempt of the newcomers to land here. Thus it is not incidental that the early manuscripts call the Black Sea Pontus Axenus, meaning The Inhospitable Sea.

Centuries later when the Greeks finally managed to establish their settlements along the Black Sea coast, the Black Sea received a new name. It was called now Pontus Euxinus, meaning THE HOSPITABLE SEA. Cicero, the Roman orator and statesman, called the Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast - "an edge of a wide cloth of barbarian lands". Many years later with the development of trade between the countries of the Near East and the regions of the Black Sea the Arabian geographers substantially supplemented the knowledge of ancient scientists. Such Arab scientists as al-Masudi (d. 956), al-Edrisi (I 100-1166) and others called this sea - THE RUSSIAN SEA. It was the golden age of

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Kievskaya Rus, i. e. when Kiev was the capital of Russia and when all Eastern Slays were united into one nation. Russia of those days was forced quite often to take actions against the East Roman Empire and to undertake several campaigns against its capital - Constantinople as the latter tried to hamper the freedom of navigation on the Black Sea. As result of Russian actions freedom of navigation for Russian ships was guaranteed. Moreover, the Russian merchants received the right to trade free of duty within the territory of the East Roman Empire. To this day one may find on old Italian charts or portolanos that this sea was called the RUSSIAN SEA. Several Oriental writers used to call it the Sudak Sea after a town on the Crimean coast bearing the same name. Several centuries ago in allianguages of Europe and the Near East the present name of the sea was finally established. Then how has it happened? Most scientists consider that this name originated for a very simple reason. A ship coming from the light-blue waters of the Mediterranean, on passing the Bosporus, enters a sea that seems blackish in colour, especially when compared with the colours of the former. This certainly sounds logical.

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And now a few words about the Neptune's "branch office" Sturgeon and mackerel are caught in large numbers in the north-western part of the sea; herrings are found chiefly in Kyerch-Yenikale strait and off the mouths of the Danube and Dnyepr; the anchovy is caught in enormous quantities along the coast of the Crimea; the flounder and grey-mullet are found nearly all over the Black Sea. In all the sea offers its consumers about 180 different species. No use describing everyone of them, but we think our dolphins deserve a special mention. According to our estimates the Black Sea has about half a million heads of this genera. The Soviet Government has recently forbidden the catch of dolphins as they are of great interest to science. We sincerely hope that other countries will follow our initiative in this respect.

Another interesting fact about the Black Sea is that it has in its north-western part a huge area (about 10,000 sq. kms.) of phyllophorous seaweeds which are red in colour. This seaweed jungle serves the fish as a place of putting on flesh. At a depth of 30-60 meters everything is red: - the fish and crabs, the worms and sponges.

Now about our estuaries and islands. Such rivers as the Danube, Dnyepr, Yuzhni Bug, Dnyestr, Rion, Chorokh, Kyzyl-Irmak, Kodor,

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Kachia and several others discharge into the Black Sea.

The estuaries of many rivers draining into the Black Sea, form long and wide lagoons which are called limans. Many of these lagoons or limans are connected with the sea by means of narrow passages, whereas the others are separated from the sea by means of narrow sandy spits which are called pyeryesyp. During spring floods these spits are sometimes cut through by the rushing waters and form canals.

Many limans eventually became liman lakes. We find quite a few of them in Bulgaria and in the Crimea. Donuzlav and a group near Saki are among such lakes in the Crimea. Though the shores of the Black Sea are varied in aspect, the number of convenient gulfs and bays is rather small. In the north west we have the gulfs of Odessa, Peryekop, Dzharylgach, Tendra, Yegorlytski, and the Burgas Bay in the west. Among the convenient bays along this coast we should mention those of Sevastopol, Balaklava, Novorossiisk and Ghelendzhik. During the past few years the Soviet people have created a number of new man-made bays, such as the one we have now in Sukhoi Liman (Dry Estuary). Here the new port of Ilichyovsk has arisen. Though it was

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originally considered to be just an extension to the old port of Odessa; to-day this "extension" handles more cargo than the old port. In the whole of the Black Sea there are only three islands: Insula Serpilor or Zmyeiny (Fido nisi), situated off the mouth of the Danube; Byeryezan, off the mouth of the Dnyepr; and Keften (Kirpen) adasi, about 50 miles east ward of the northern entrance to Karadeniz bogazi, on the approaches to the Strait of Bosporus. Off the west coast of the Crimea there is a smal1 group of sandy islands which are cal1ed Lyebyazhii, which is the Russian for Swan. The name is not incidental, as swans nest here in huge numbers. Quite often flocks of snow-white beauties swim out into open sea along this part of the coastline. Scientists carry out interesting research work on these birds.

Extensive research work in various fields is constantly being carried out in the region of the Black Sea. The first Russian map of the Black Sea made its appearance during the reign of Peter the Great. Among 800 scientific papers published in different countries during the past 175 years more than 700 belong to scientists of our country. Today at least 10 different

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research bodies are engaged in the study of the Black Sea. About 30,000 kms. of river routes of such waterways as the Dnyepr, the Don, the Danube and through the Volga-Don Canal the huge basin of the Volga play an active part in the economy of the Black Sea region. With every year the ports of the Black Sea witness not only a constant increase of trade and cargo turnover but the appearance of numerous passenger liners on cruises from al1 over the world. Every foreign tourist coming to the Soviet Union gets a hearty welcome and enjoys the unusual Russian hospitality throughout his voyage in the U.S.S.R.

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THE CITY OF SMILES AND SUNSHINE

What is a town? Some people simply say - just houses. Others say that's - squares and streets, monuments and museums. Still others think that a town is really something else people and events. Then what is Odessa like? If towns could fill up application forms like we do sometimes, then Odessa would look something like this:

• Date of birth: 1794.
• Social position: toiler.
• Profession: seaman, docker, machine tool constructor, builder, musician, gardener.
• Education: 14 Colleges including University, 26 technical schools, 130 secondary schools.
• Military Service: participated in battles even before the origin, having captured Khadzhibei by storm; repulsed foreign intervention

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during the Crimean War; fought gallantly on the barricades in 1905; fought for Soviet Power in 1917 and during the Civil War that followed; withstood a 73-day siege against the nazi hordes during , World War II; now retired from active military service, but always ready to fight the country s enemies.

• Military and Civil Decorations: decorated with the highest military order - Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin, as well as with the Medal "For Defense of Odessa".
• Knowledge of foreign languages: we know many languages, but best of all - the Language of Friendship.
• Family: we have 745,000 daughters and sons.
  
• Address: The City of Odessa (Lat. 46029' N., Long. 30°44' E.), Ukraine, U.S.S.R.

And if we could add another item to this form about the city's character, then the answer would be: gay and optimistic, brave, hardworking and peaceful. The Odessites are extremely fond of their

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city, they love their wide avenues and quiet lanes, their acacias and chestnut trees, they love the constant changes of colors of their sea and sky. They think it's simply impossible not to love their southern town.

Odessa is annually visited by thousands and thousands of tourists from all over the world. Very few towns enjoy so mild a climate, so wonderful a view, so powerful and healthy sea air. But this is far from being the only reason of attraction. It is a Hero-City, one of a few, that gloriously depict both the wonderful revolutionary past and the gallant feat of the people during the last war.

Odessa occupies a territory of about 400 sq. kms. Its population is about 745,000. Odessa does not have such notable sights as the kind you may find in towns with a history of thousands of years. I t does not possess any such ancient structures of the times of the slave system that ravish the imagination of those visiting Athens or Rome. It does not have the Pyramid of Cheops that always attracts the attention of those traveling in Egypt... But don't let all this discourage you as we have many wonderful things here that certainly wi11 be of interest to you.

I am neither a guide nor an employee of a

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Potyomkin Stairway

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Stairway travel bureau, but I am just a common citizen of this city, the streets of which you have step ped on for the first time. Everything here is new to you, but I know it all - the aroma of the white acacias, the colours of the sea, its streets and lanes, its flowers and stones.

Jean Brion, a teacher from Marseiiles, having recently visited Odessa, said: "We came here, having a vague idea about your city, which we got from a brochure on Odessa that was published in our country in 1908...".

What decent information could one get from a French brochure published nearly sixty years ago? Why waste time on itineraries of 1908, when guide-books published just before the last war are already out-of-date to-day...

However, soon with your own eyes you will be able to determine how distant is this French guide-book from the present Soviet reality.....

Many people still don't have the slightest idea about our city, whereas the conception of others is really out-of-date.

We should like to make a reservation before hand that we shall not be too strict with chronology, as we are well aware that you are more interested in the live impressions about our city.

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We are not historians, but will try to act as guides.

Every day thousands of people, tourists, guests, those coming to have a rest and others arrive here in Odessa, the city on the Black Sea, one of the biggest industrial and cultural centres of the Soviet Union. They come here by air, rail and car but still the majority arrives by ship. Natura1ly, most of you want to learn as much as possible about this unfamiliar city. But you don't have enough time to do it, then where is the way out? Of course, you have the guides at your disposal. They will te1l you everything interesting that there is about this city. Nevertheless, we hope that our Guide Book will prove useful as well and will supplement the story of your guides with new details.

We will show you memorials commemorating glorious events in our history, architectural ensembles and avenues, the port and factories, the centre of the city and its suburbs, our resorts and parks, the stadiums and clubs everything that will be of interest to you. We will take you to the famous catacombs of Odessa, which are closely connected with the most interesting pages in the history of our city. We shall introduce you to the simple, lively and sociable Odessites, and hope that

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among them you will find many new friends, as the numerous visitors before you have already found. We hope this Guide-Book will become your good companion during your rambling excursions through Our city.

Then - where from shall we start getting acquainted with the city? Perhaps you have come to Odessa also by sea. And the first thing that you see is the port. Then let's start from here, especially since it is the port and the sea that have made Odessa what it is to-day. However, before starting Our story about the port of Odessa, we ought to give some historical data as the history of the city originates here.

You may be interested to know what was the local Black Sea coast like, say thousands of years ago? The most ancient traces of man in the region of Odessa were found in 194 I by the village of Iliinka - on the western shore of the Iluyalnik Liman, about 25 kms. from the centre of the town. The remains of material culture that were found there are dated back to the Ancient Stone Age - Paleolith, which separates us from that time by tens of thous ands of years. Of times even more remote, say hundreds of thousands of years from Our time, of the animal life in the regions of the Black Sea coast we learn from the wonderful finds

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that we get in the catacombs of Odessa. Here, for many years now the archaeological expedi tion of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences has been carrying out its research work.

The Odessa catacombs have an interesting history, unlike those of Rome, which were formed as subterranean places of burial. Here they are galleries or passages which are vast abandoned underground stone quarries.

A most vivid picture of the Neolithic Era or of the later Stone Age, when ground or polished stone weapons and implements prevailed, is given to us by the Usatovo Culture (named so after the village of Usatovo, which is 7 kms. out of Odessa). The finds that were discovered here demonstrate a high culture of the tribes that were densely inhabiting these steppes and bring to light the origin of the tribes of Eastern Europe.

During excavations burial mounds were discovered and stone dwellings which were built out of local limestone. In one of the barrows a gravestone was found. It had an image of a man, deer and horses. These people were already domesticating animals and were en gaged in hunting and fishing. Many relics certify the existence of trade relations between the ancient inhabitants of Usatovo and other tribes. They were exchanging animal products

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and salt for flint, amber and even copper implements.

Later, about the end of the 6th, the beginning of the 4th century B. C. the Scythians occupied these territories, and still later from the 2nd century B.C. - the Sarmathians. Besides these nomad tribes there were also different tribes with settled village life, the latter, as proved by Soviet scientists, were direct ancestors of Eastern Slavs. The 2nd century A. D. was especially stormy in the history of the lands to the north of the Black Sea. These lands witnessed the hordes of Huns and were frequently overrun by the Goths and other conquerors. These came and went but the local population - the countless Anty, as Procopius, the Byzantine historian used to call them, remained. They formed the southern branch of the Eastern Slavs.

With the appearance of the Ancient Russian State these territories were inhabited by the Eastern Slavic tribes of Ulichi and Tivertsi that settled along the Dniester and as far south as the Danube.

Many a time were these lands overrun by the nomad tribes of Pecheneghi and Polovtsi. At some time in the 11th century A. D. in the place of present Odessa there was an an cient Russian fortress which was destroyed by

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the Polovtsi. Centuries later, a new Russian fortress, rather a fortified settlement and port by the name of Kotsubeyevo (Kachibeyevo) appeared here, which in its turn was destroyed by Asian nomads in 1540 and later restored under the name of Khadzhibei. This time it was already a Turkish fortress.

We don't feel the right of torturing you any longer with all this ancient historical data. So let's pass directly to the 18th century. The year 1789. The gallant Suvorov soldiers under the command of general Gudovich together with courageous Ukrainian cossacks under enemy's fire, climbing by stones and ladders, stormed and seized the Turkish fortress of Khadzhibei. On an Autumn night the Russian troops silently proceeding by ravines and gorges finally approached the Turkish fortress. They saw in front of them high up on an abrupt coast the outlines of round and square towers and cogged walls of some mysterious enemy stronghold. Everything was quiet behind the blackish walls as the Turks never expected such a daring sally. Meanwhile the vanguard commanded by General I. M. Deribasse approached the fortress from Krivaya Balka, whereas the

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detachment under the command of Khvostov approached the stronghold from the Pyeryesyp District in order to distract the enemy's attention.

The advance was swift; the cossacks having already reached the cogged walls of the fortress, the Turks opened fire from 112 guns. The soldiers climbing up the precipice, from where the Primorski Boulevard is today, were under constant fire both of the fortress and the enemy's fleet which was in the harbour at that time. Though the Russian troops were actually under cross-fire, they did not stop the attack and climbing up by shaky rope-ladders, managed to force their way into the stronghold of the enemy. One Russian artillery unit was stationed at this moment at the edge of the precipice and started firing at the Turkish warships, which soon made their way out into the open sea, leaving behind them the damaged vessels.

By the morning the fortress was seized and the victorious Russian flag was hoisted to celebrate the victory. Russian soldiers and Ukrainian cossacks in this battle captured over a hundred fortress guns and 9 enemy flags, while Akhmet Pasha, the Turkish commander, was taken prisoner. Suvorov congratulated the victors with the following words,- "I have the honour to congratulate

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you with victory over Khadzhibei. Sincerely hope that you will attain new laurels".

After the end of the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-91 a new era in the life of this territory had begun. All the liberated lands were then called Novorossia (New Russia). Not far from the old Khadzhibei a new Russian fortress was built.

Here at the place of Khadzhibei it was decided to create a port on the Black Sea. Why exactly here? The decree of Katherine 11 said: "Taking into consideration the advantageous position of Khadzhibei by the Black Sea and other benefits therewith, we acknowledge it necessary to build there a combined naval base and merchant wharf The construction work to be carried out under the supervision of General Count Suvorov-Rimnikski, who is commissioned by us with the construction of all the fortifications "

Suvorov stood at the cradle of the new port and city in the south of Russia which was named Odessa.

Where was this name derived from? The thing is that archaeologists and historians sup posed that in the ancient days in the place where Khadzhibei stood, there was an ancient Greek colony named Odessos. This hypothesis,

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as it was established much later, proved to be wrong. In reality, Odessos was in the place, where the Bulgarian city of Varna is today.

22nd August, 1794 is. rightly considered the day of the origin of the city, when the first stones of the future port were laid. In the same year the foundations of the Big Mole (The Quarantine Mole) were laid. It was intended to protect the port from the stormy seas. Suvorov himself supervised the construction of the young city. He wrote once: "If I am ever free then I'll take the spade and go to Khadzhibei". The city grew rapidly. It was well planned with straight streets and big squares, a rare thing for towns of old Russia. Best architects from St. Petersburg and other Russian cities participated in this job.

Wonderful planning and architecture, the sea with its climate already in the first years of origin of Odessa made her famous amongst travelers. The Russian poet K. Batyushkov wrote: "I came to the best of our cities Odessa... " The population grew rapidly too. Numerous newcomers were attracted by the grain harbor. The majority of new settlers were Russians and Ukrainians.

The wheat exports dominated in the trade relations of the new port, which soon became

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the chief port for the south of Russia. Odessa was then called - The Southern Window Into Europe.

Russian wheat started flooding the markets of Western Europe. Already in 1797 Odessa was visited by 72 ships and 50 of them took grain on board. The first quarter of the 19th century was very important in the history of Odessa. Its population continued to grow rapidly. But suddenly this rapid growth of the new town came to halt. This happened during the reign of Paul. The local merchants, whose affairs were at stake with such an attitude on the part of the tzar, decided to find a way of reconciling the monarch. So they ordered a party of 3000 wild oranges, which had just arrived in port aboard a vessel from Greece, to be sent to the distant capital. Simultaneously a petition to the tzar was sent in which a loan of 250,000 roubles was asked for the completion of the port As the oranges proved to the tzar's taste, the loan was granted and the construction of the port was continued even with greater zeal. If in 1803 Odessa had only 9,000 inhabit ants, in 1808 its population was already 12,500, whereas by the end of the twenties of the 19th century it surpassed the 50,000 mark.

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From the first days of origin of the city many different people migrated here from the Balkan peninsula, most of which at that time was under the Turkish domination. Escaping from Turkish persecutions, they came to Odessa. Among them were many Bulgarians, Serbians, Greeks and Albanians or Arnauti, as the Turks used to call them. Especially numerous were the Greeks, who came here during their struggle for national freedom. In 1814 the Greeks organized here a patriotic secret society for the liberation of their country from the Turkish yoke. This society called - Geteria - had its branches all over Greece and headed the fight for liberty, uniting big masses of the Greek people. P. Pestel (participant of the December Uprising of 1825 in S1. Petersburg) wrote: "the Greeks of Odessa are gathering in great number and the excitement in Odessa is tremendous..." The Krasny Lane even to this day has the old house which served as head-quarters for members of Geteria. Many different political circles were formed which were visited by such outstanding par ticipants of the December Uprising as P. Pestel, M. Orlov, the Muraviyev-Apostol brothers, P. Puschin (Pushkin's friend), M. Fonvisin,

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At the Richelieu Monument

the Rayevsky brothers and many others. Many members of the December Uprising worked and lived in Odessa. The leading intellectuals of the city were connected with Decembrist circles of S1. Petersburg. Thus, by the end of the first quarter of the 19th century we may say that Odessa attained its maturity. The port by this time became so big and important that it had no serious rivals on the Black Sea for a whole century. One of

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the enterprises that greatly stimulated the rapid growth of Odessa was that for 40 years, from 1819 till 1859, it was a free port. By this measure the port became an important economical and cultural centre of the Southern Ukraine. The light industries were developing. The first city theatre was built, at first the Lyceum and then the Novorossiiski University were opened, the first public library started. At this time the centre of the town witnessed a rapid construction of beautiful buildings, whereas the suburban area, where the working people lived, was full of slums. The public places of culture and schools still remained a privilege of the rich only.

The port continued to grow. Foreign trade was developing thus enriching the upper classes of the merchants. The author of the article once published in 1825 in "National Notes" about Odessa stated: "Going down a slope one comes to a wide and beautiful thoroughfare which is full of rich people... Wonderful carriages and horses, trans ports with cargo, colourful people on the side walks mingle here and there " Yes, if this author would visit the outskirts - he would find quite a different scene. He would see nothing but utter poverty and desolation.

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As the trade relations grew, ships with Russian wheat and timber were sailing out for France, Italy, Greece, the Levant States, and later to England. Odessa of those days was importing mostly manufactured goods, among them even roof-tiles from Marseilles. The city grew together with the extensions of the port. Social forces were developing in Odessa and progressive ideas began to spread. Throughout the history of Odessa its freedom loving people played an important role in the social and progressive movements of old Russia.

The streets and squares of the city witnessed many historical events. It was here that the gun-salvoes of Schyogolyev's heroic battery were heard. This happened during the Crimean War of 1854-55. It was here in the Novorossiiski University that the future organizer and leader of the NATIONAL FREEDOM organization - A. Zhelyabov was studying. It was here in 1875 that the first workers' revolutionary political organization,- THE UNION OF WORKERS OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA,- was founded by E. Zaslavski, the well known Russian revolutionary. It was on the streets of Odessa that the bomb thrown at Stryelnikov, exploded. Styepan

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Memorial to the heroic resistance of Odessa during the Crimean War.

A gun from the British frigate "Tiger"

Khalturin, the worker-revolutionary, together with Zhelvakov were making an attempt on the life of this tzar's hangman at that time. Odessa is proud that the great Lenin was elected a delegate to the Party's III Congress from its social-democratic ogranization. Great work was performed in Odessa by such outstanding revolutionaries as Lenin's

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brother - Dmitri Ulyanov, R. Zyemlyachka, E. Yaroslavski, V. Vorovski and others.

The eternal sounds of Marseillaise were heard on the barricades of Odessa in 1905, which became the national hymn not only of the French people but of the Russian revolutionaries as well. The seamen of the legendary "Potyomkin" arrived on roads of Odessa with this mighty revolutionary song. Lenin called this battleship - the unconquered territory of the first Russian Revolution. In times of the Great October Socialist Revolution in 1917 and the Civil War that followed Odessa became the scene of courageous activities of the local revolutionaries. One of the most outstanding events in the history of the city during this period is undoubtedly the January Uprising of 1918. For three days the people fought for the victory of their revolution. This struggle was supported by Russian warships which were in port at that time. The artillery fire of the "Almaz", the "Sinop" and the "Rostislav" inflicted the final blow upon the enemy's headquarters. Though 14th of January seemed to be already the V-day, nevertheless fighting continued for another two days until final victory was attained.

Actually the fighting began on the night of January 14th, when utter winter darkness was

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suddenly pierced by searchlights of warships of the Black Sea fleet which were at that time berthed at the piers of Odessa. This was a signal which meant the beginning of the revolutionary uprising. Seamen and soldiers, workers and youth, troops of the Red Guard under the command of Makar Chizhikov began the uprising. Already by the morning of January 14th the revolutionary troops could celebrate their victory. Leaflets of the Military Revolutionary Committee were pasted all over the town announcing that the Soviets have come to power. But the enemy was not defeated finally yet; he was simply waiting for an appropriate moment to inflict a new blow. On the next day, January 15th, shooting was started all over the town and it became evident that the enemy was not ready to surrender. The counter-revolutionary forces were trying their best to seize the key centres of the city and especially the port. At this crucial moment after orders given by Chizhikov all the sirens of mills and plants started blowing their appeal to the citizens and soon numerous volunteers started appearing at the head-quarters of the Red Guard. Thus by the morning of January 17th the last remains of the enemy surrendered, where the tzarist cadets fled.

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But the victory attained in January did not serve the people for very long and peace was broken again. This time Odessa was seized by the forces of Austria and Germany and the Soviet power was left no other alternative but to go underground again. In November, 1918 the troops of Austria and Germany had to leave for their countries but life did not become any better as soon enough the forces of Entente made their appearance here. To-day the streets, squares, factories and theatres of the city bear the names of our out standing revolutionaries and heroes. They are the names of Starostin and Mizikevich, Chi zhikov and Smirnov-Lastochkin, Kotovski and Grandpa Trofim, and many others. The names of those who lost their lives for the cause of the people will never be forgotten by the citizens of Odessa. Odessa witnessed also the activities of the Foreign Colleague which greatly helped in the struggle against the Anglo-French intervention. One of the local streets bears the name of Jeanne Laborbe, a French woman-revolutionary. Her grave is often visited by the citizens of Odessa who always leave live flowers on her tomb-stone. Numerous monuments of the city always remind us of the heroic past. Among these is

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a new memorial to those who fought aboard the "Potyomkin". No one will ever forget the 73-day defence of Odessa during World War II. for which the city got immortal glory together with such cities as Moscow, Leningrad, Volgograd, Sevastopol, Kiev and the Hero-Fortress of Brest. Odessa was awarded the title of HERO-CITY! To commemorate this heroic siege the Soviet Government decorated its defenders with the medal- For Defence of Odessa. After the war the people of Odessa restored their city from ruins and made it what you see today! Yes, it is easy to say this today but when one remembers the atrocities of the Nazi vandals, one can't help restoring in memory the events of that time. In the beginning- of August, 1941 the situation in the south became extremely difficult. Big forces of the enemy were trying to seize Odessa. If this goal of the Nazis could be attained immediately then their forces would get a better possibility of proceeding to the Crimea and the Caucasus, besides the position of the Black Sea Fleet would also be aggravated, not to say anything of how important the seizure of this port was for the enemy. So it was certainly not incidental that such huge forces of the Nazis were concentrated here.

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During the battle for Odessa in 1941 On the 8th of August. 1941 the local commander, rear-admiral G. V. Zhukov, announced that the city is in the state of siege. 100,000 citizens of Odessa under enemy's fire and constant bombing were making their defense tines which extended for 250 kms. Numerous factories and mills of the city switched over to war production. In two months our defenders received from the local enterprises dozens of tanks; thousands of trench mortars, flame-throwers; hundreds of thousands of high-explosive shells; bombs and mines! With the seizure of the Dnyestr railway station Odessa was cut away from its only water supply, but this did not discourage the gallant defenders. Shortly 60 artesian wells were dug throughout the town and the in habitants continued to get their water supply though at the rate of only 5 litres a day per capita. The dockers continued to work under constant fire and bombing. During the 73-day siege nearly 200,000 tons of cargo were handled, comprising 303 vessels. About 300,000 people were evacuated through the port of Odessa at this time. Though the enemy's forces outnumbered five times the number of the defenders, not to say anything of the technical superiority of the Nazis in this region of the siege, the gallant defenders fought on in spite of all hardships that constantly faced them. During a period of only 11/2 months the ships of the merchant marine and naval transports just on the line between Odessa and Sevastopol made 648 voyages. These were 648 feats of the Soviet seamen. During the 73-day gallant siege of Odessa our people were able to withstand the attacks

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of 18 Nazi divisions, comprising 300,000 Vandals, all armed to the teeth. The town was left only after orders received from the Head Quarters to evacuate all the military forces for the defense of Sevastopol and the Crimea. But even after the evacuation of our forces to the Crimea the resistance continued for 907 days under fascist occupation. The catacombs of Odessa became an underground base and Head quarters for the activities of local guerillas. This 800-km. labyrinth of underground passages could tell a lot about the services it rendered to our country. On the 10th of April, 1944 the victorious armies of the Third Ukrainian Front under the general command of Marshal R. Malinovski (now Minister of Defense) liberated Odessa from the Nazi plague. The Eternal Fire at the Obelisk to the Un known Sailor will always remind us of the people who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the country.

BRIGHTLY SHINES THE LIGHTHOUSE

Please note the cargo that is marked with the sign: Made in U.S.S.R! These are huge cases with machinery, tractors and cars. Now these are the items of export! And what do we import? Rubber, rice, jute, raw sugar, cork and other raw materials for our industries. Do you need any more vivid examples of the changes that took place in our country since the revolution? Yes, it is no more the country whose sole exports consisted of wheat, furs and hemp. By the piers of the port you may easily judge of the technical progress of this country. If at one time Odessa was looked at as the Southern Window to Europe, then today instead of being just called a "window" it should be named The Wide Southern Gates from Europe and other Continents to the U.S.S.R. By the ships and their flags you can see that the weather is good. For those who want to live in peace, for those who want to trade with us our gates are always wide open, as open as our hearts. Both the sea and the people here are hospitable. Even the Greeks of the ancient times knew this as they used to call our sea - Pontos Euxeinos, or hospitable sea. But to enemies we recommend to know that for them our gates are firmly closed. The Turks came to know this well enough in 1789, the

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father Gorio from a story of the same name by dreaming of big commercial deals, Balzac, said: - Oh, I'll start trading again. I'll go to Odessa for grain. What would Father Gorio say today, if he were to come to Odessa now? If you take a stroll along the piers of this port today you will find ships with numerous and different flags. Taking into mind that every foreign ship represents the territory of its country, you will be able to visit practically all the countries of the world without leaving Odessa. The piers of this port in one way are similar to a geographical map of the world, by which you may study not only the geography but the national economy of many countries as well.

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joint Anglo-French squadron learned it in 1854, the Austrian and German troops found it out in 1918 and the forces of the Entente in 1919, not to say anything of our own reactionaries. The port of Odessa serves as terminal for numerous cargo and passenger lines, among them are those to France, Italy, India, Japan, Bulgaria, the United Arab Republic and other states. The ships of the Black Sea Shipping Lines, the biggest shipping company of our country, carry millions of tons of industrial and argicultural cargoes. The postwar turnover increased several times. Only in 1964 they circumnavigated the globe 600 times. In pre-revolutionary times Odessa was always attracted by thousands of vagabonds who were searching for work in the port. Where are the famous vagabonds of Odessa today? Now practically all the cargo handling operations are mechanized. Best proof to this effect are the numerous cranes that line the piers, the numerous fork-lift trucks and other facilities that you may see moving constantly between ship and warehouse. Manual operations are practically excluded now. The workers of the port today are highly educated people full of human dignity, the most complicated equipment is quite obedient in their hands.

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Whaling Refinery, the "Sovietskaya Ukraina", returning home They participate in social life and state affairs. Among them we have members of our Soviet Parliament. Practically every day a new cargo or passenger liner enters service under the management of the local shipping company. These are modern ships with all the necessary equipment

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and aids for navigation and cargo operations. They are manned by excellent seamen. Among the new vessels built in Soviet shipyards which have joined the Soviet merchant fleet during the last few years we should mention the turbine ships of the "Leninsky Komsomol" type. They are first-class dry-cargo ocean vessels capable of 18-19 knots. They can carry up to 13,400 tons of cargo. These ships have two decks and six holds, the latter having ventilation systems feeding in dry warm air to keep the cargo in good shape. Hatches are opened and closed automatically; in general these ships are highly mechanized and require an unusually small crew for vessels of their type. This 170-metrelong vessel is guaranteed to float even if one of its six compartments is flooded and the ship is carrying a full load of cargo. It can sail for 12,000 miles without bunkering. Everything possible has been done to make life comfortable for the crew. They have single and double-berth cabins with air conditioning throughout; this is particularly important when the ship is in the tropics or in high latitudes. The merchant marine is being increased with 49,000-t.d.w. tankers of the "Sofia" class, powered by 19,000 h. p. steam turbine installations

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and capable of 17 knots with a range of over 10,000 miles. In a short time a number of high-speed hydrofoil craft, capable of 40 knots, will be added to our passenger fleet. The main type of passenger ships in service will be vessels of the "Ivan Franko" class. The latter takes 750 passengers in cabins and is able to take another 500 on deck for short trips; the cruising range is about 8,000 miles with a service speed of over 20 knots. Soviet navigators will soon have excellent new instruments for automatic dead reckoning, instruments for telephoto transmission and reception of navigation and meteorological charts, for the automatic selection of the best course on the basis of meteorological forecasts, for determining the course and speed of approaching vessels. The time is not far off when an "automatic navigator" will be developed - a machine that will solve the most intricate problems of navigation and plotting without a hitch. Besides carrying passengers along the coast of the Black Sea our liners take Soviet tourists abroad and foreign tourists often come on a cruise here on board their own ships.

Annual cruises of our passenger ships around Europe have become a tradition now.

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It is hard to believe now that every pier of the port was blown up by the retreating Nazis; not a single crane was left; and even the light house was destroyed. Everything was turned into a heap of ruins, but today our lighthouse is higher and brighter than ever before, its light showing constantly the way to the hospitable city of Odessa, saying -

WELCOME! HOUSES, STREETS & SQUARES

On leaving the port we go up the Potyomkin Stair way that leads to town. There are many historical monuments and buildings with not able architecture here. For the start let's just take a stroll to get a general impression of the city. Those arriving by plane already from the air may notice the planning of the city which resembles a huge chess-board. Well proportioned and beautiful are the streets and avenues of Odessa. One of the best being the Pushkinskaya Street, which looks more like an alley of plane-trees (Platanus). The Lenin Street has been recently reconstructed and is notable for its numerous vines that cluster along the walls of the buildings lining this thoroughfare. The Peace Avenue is a corridor of poplars. The Deribasovskaya Street is always noisy and gay, always full

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of people as it is the shopping centre of Odessa. Last but not least we should mention the Primorski Boulevard (Maritime Boulevard) which is lined with numerous flowers, always crowdy as it offers the best observation of the port below and was always admired by the Odessites from times of old. Every street in Odessa is lined with trees. So it is not incidental that we have an old saying herethat Odessa may be crossed from one side to the other without going out of the shade. The Black Sea nights in spring are full of wonderful aroma from acacias and lilacs..... In spite of the awful destruction that the city suffered in time of war, today you will not be able to find traces of the last war. The Nazis destroyed 2210 houses and enterprises worth at least 2 billion rubles. We don't think you will be able to find even minor traces of war now. New apartment houses, parks and squares have appeared where once were only ruins. Big house construction is everywhere now, especially on the outskirts of the city, where one may see numerous cranes over the walls of new buildings. Annually about 150,000 sq. m. of living space, comprising thousands of modern apartments with all the up-to-date facilities are being settled by those whose living conditions

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are not up to the necessary standard. Only in the South-Western District of Odessa at least 125,000 people are to be housed,- that's a population for a whole town! Only in this District alone 16 schools are being built; 35 children's nurseries, a big regional club, a cinema and a big restaurant are under construction. Thousands of people are constantly getting new flats here with all the modern conveniences. The speed of house construction and the number of flats to be handed over to the people is increasing from year to year. Only during the past seven years the citizens of Odessa got as much living space as Odessa had built in all its pre-revolutionary history. That's something that we can really boast of. New house construction of Odessa envisages a total of 4 million sq. m. of floor space! Such speeds in solving the housing problems are not known to any country in the world! Among the recent buildings to be completed we should mention the Central Department Store on Pushkin Street, the new TV Centre, the numerous restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, culinary shops that free the women from extra home work, then the Panorama Cinema. The new Central Bus Station deserves a mention too. At least 6,000 passengers pass through this bus station daily. Odessa is connected by long

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distance bus service with many towns of the country, including Kiev, Kishinyev, Kharkov, Simferopol, Vinnitza and many others. In all there are at least 140 different bus routes running from Odessa. The brand-new airport is a complex structure of concrete and glass. The local transport system is undergoing at present a total reconstruction. Old tramway lines are being dismantled and substituted by modern trams, trolley-buses or simply buses of the type that you will use on your sight seeing tours of the city. At the disposal of the inhabitants we have now thousands of taxi cabs which are being constantly supplemented by new models. The citizens of Odessa participate most actively in modernizing their native city. They participate in the construction of houses, streets and patios. They plant trees along the thoroughfares and vines along the walls of their buildings. Every citizen tries to plant at least one tree in his town. The area of trees planted by the inhabitants of the city comprises now 8,000 hectares (or 20,000 acres). Usually the guides willingly show you the centre of the city, but they try to evade the suburbs which were in times of old connected with misery and poverty and were full of

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slums, full of squalid dwellings where the rays of the sun were hardly seen. You, of course, remember the Bleak House by Charles Dickens, where he says that it would be better if the sun never rose over England if it were to throw the light of its rays upon such a street as the street of Lonely Tom. But we want to show you not only the centre but the suburban area as well, especially the one that appeared after the last war. We are not shy to show it as it has become unrecognizable. Take such streets as the Bogdan Khmyelnitski or Moskovskaya in the Pyeryesyp District. They hardly differ from the best streets of the centre, but this does not mean that everything is perfect today. We endeavor to eliminate the still existing differences between the centre of our cities and their suburbs, an inheritance that we got from the past. In this respect much has been done already and within the next few years uncomfortable suburban flats will disappear altogether from the face of our cities. Now let's take the bus at the Martynovski Square and proceed to the region of Odessa's Cheryomushki. But, first of all, what is Cheryomushki? Cheryomushki is the south-western part of Moscow suburbs, where at present tremendous

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house construction work is being carried out. But we are in Odessa, not in Moscow. That's true, but here in the south-western part of the city, which until lately was but a desolate and neglected area of Odessa, today we also have a big area of house construction that is worthy of admiration.

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this explains the reason for the name. Here we see the new streets and houses of our suburbia. They are not just new streets but whole settlements that soon will make up new districts in the city's environs. The dockers of Odessa, our seamen, the workers of the ship building works live here. The names of the streets were given by the local inhabitans themselves. These are Korabyelnaya, Morskaya, Tankernaya and others. When the local inhabitants learned of the treacherous murder of Patris Lumumba, they named their main street after his name as. a sign of solidarity with the African people and their just cause in the struggle for liberty. The construction of our new regions or settlements as in the rest of the country bears the principle of microregions, which means that every district of this type is absolutely independent of the rest of the city in respect of supplies, culture and rest. They have their local cinema, school, nurseries and crushes, shops, mechanized laundries, post offices and so on. That means a lot of saving time for every resident of such a new region. All the building processes are well me chanized in the region of Odessa's Cheryo mushki. The completion of construction work but in this one district will make it possible to house a population of a whole town anewt The old Odessa will soon meet with its sputnik town that is under construction in the region of Sukhoi Liman (Dry Estuary). We were sure that not everyone knew the word Cheryomushki, so we were obliged to give an explanation above, but the word sputnik is certainly self-explanatory. The sputnik-town is 30 km. out of Odessa in Sukhoi Liman. It is now called IIichyovsk and is actually a new extension of the port of Odessa. It is not on the maps yet but the captains of many countries know it well enough today. The old port of Odessa, as you have already seen, is confined on all sides by the city itself and there is no actual possibility to extend it here, so it was decided to start on building a new extension of the port in the region of 5ukhoi Liman, place most convenient for this purpose as it is well sheltered from the elements of the sea. The construction of the new port was begun only in 1958 when

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the first piles were hammered in, but now ocean liners are constantly berthing here. In a short time Ilichyovsk will have a population of 100,000 and will become one city with Odessa. Unlike the old towns of tsarist Russia, Odessa right from the origin in 1794 was being built according to a general plan, which practically did not undergo any alterations. This accounts for the successful construction work thereafter, the good planning of the streets and houses, the squares and the architectural ensembles of the city. Among the latter we should mention such ensembles, as the one we have in the Primorski Boulevard, the Commune Square, the region of the Opera Theatre and the Railway station. Along the streets and avenues of Odessa you will certainly notice buildings of different architecture. Their different styles depict the times of their build. But may be it is just this that gives Odessa its  :special color. With enthusiasm, peculiar of a southerner, the Odessite, meeting a new-comer usually .asks: _ Have you been to our Opera Theatre? If no - then you haven't seen Odessa... The native residents are very proud of their theatre, and this pride, mind you, is quite

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Opera and Ballet Theatre One of the lobbies of the Opera House legitimate. The building is really beautiful, if not the best of its type in the world. It is not surprising therefore that every visitor in Odessa always tries to see this building and wishes to be present at one of the performances there. It is well known that every old city has its emblem or sign. Such is the monument of Peter the Great for Leningrad, the Eiffel Tower for Paris or the Big Ben for London. Odessa has such emblems too - it is either the Potyomkin Stairway or the Opera & Ballet Theatre. The main entrance of the Opera consists of a two-storey portico, on the top of which you will see Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, driving a chariot harnessed by four panthers. In her right hand she is holding a torch, which is the symbol of art and with her left hand she is driving the chariot. The panthers symbolize passion which ennobles the art. The theatre's facade is also decorated with sculptures of Orpheus, the legendary poet and musician, whose lyre could charm beasts and make trees and rocks move; and Terpsichore, the Muse of dancing and choral song. The sculpture groups just on both sides of the entrance symbolize tragedy and comedy. In the

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niches, just above the second floor, you may observe the busts of Russian geniuses of music and literature - Glinka, Pushkin, Gogol and Griboyedov. All the interior decorations are performed with delicate artistic taste and elegance. The foyer is beautiful too. Wide and brilliantly decorated stairs lead to the upper floors. In the main hall which seats 1700 spectators, we have a harmony of gilt, bronze and red velvet. In the central part of the ceiling the delicate brush of an artist painted four different scenes from plays by Shakespeare which are in gilt framed medallions. The huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling weighs more than a ton, but it is not the weight that counts here but that just by itself it is a work of art. The stage is also of an impressive size, taking up 500 square meters. The Odessites value their theatre very much. Recently the theatre has been overhauled. A big work of restoration has been performed. Now everything is restored to the same state as it was at the time of origin. The Odessa Academical Theatre of Opera and Ballet was built in 1884-1887 after designs of two Vienna architects - Felner and Helmer: the work of supervision was carried

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out by Russian architects. The theatre has a big and interesting history. Its stage witnessed the best Russian and Ukrainian opera and ballet artists, and famous singers, dancers and musicians from abroad. But we are to mention this in another chapter. Meanwhile, let's see other notable architectural sights of both old and modern Odessa. Many wonderful buildings of Russian architecture have been built in old Odessa, especially in the beginning of the 19th century. Practically every building of the Primorski Boulevard is a monument of architecture. Such is the building of the City Soviet (City Council) which in the old days was the Commodity Exchange. It was built in 1829-34 after the design of architect Boffo. In niches on both sides of the entrance are Mercury, the god of trade, and Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. In the architecture of the building one feels the influence of Quarenghi, the famous Russian architect. On top of the main entrance we are attracted by two sculptures, relaxing at sides of the clock. These symbolize - day and night, or the march of time. Of interest is the building on the opposite side of the boulevard - the Pioneers' Palace (former Count Vorontzov's palace). It was built after the project of the same architect in

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Russian classical style (1826-1827). Right next to the palace you will see a portico with Doric columns. Especially beautiful is the architectural ensemble opposite the Potyomkin Stairway. Here two semi-circled buildings form one whole with the stairway and they are indispensable from each other. Built in 1827-1828 by architect A. Myelnikov of S1. Petersburg, up to this day these buildings attract live interest of tourists by their simplicity and austere beauty, harmonizing with the Stairway and the buildings around. Do you recognize it? Of course, you do. You have seen it somewhere before. Yes, it is the famous Potyomkin Stairway, which is familiar to many by the masterpiece of Soviet art the film Battleship Potyomkin. The Stairway has about 200 steps. If you are going up the steps please look in perspective. It will seem to you that the sides are parallel. But in reality it isn't so. The width below is 21 and on top only 12.5 meters.

The Potyomkin Stairway connects the port with the city. It was built in 1837-1841 and in 1933 it was restored and widened. What other notable sights of architecture should we show you? It is impossible to pass by one of the best buildings of the city the Philharmonic Society building of the Philharmonic Society. It was built about sixty-five years ago by architect J. Bernadazzi. Admiring the painting of the plafonds and the colorful panels performed by artist Karazin in the main hall, you might ask yourself,- why do they deal with the problem of trade and industry? The explanation is quite simple,- this building originally was the Stock Exchange. Within the same building we have the cozy halls of the Foreign Seamen's Club. Here

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foreign seamen during off-duty hours pass away their time, when their ships call at Odessa. Thousands of seamen from countries all over the world visit this House of International Seamen's Friendship. With big warmth and gratitude they speak of their meetings in this club. Interesting from points of architecture are the buildings of Scientists' House with its beautifully decorated white, green and marmoreal halls; the Gorki Public Library, which was built in 1905-1907 by architect F. Nesturkh in classical style. Then the Museum of Western and Oriental Art, the main building of the University, built in the fifties of the last century after the project of Shashin. At the cross-roads of two noisy streets, viz. Deribassovskaya and Sovietskoi Armii, we have a big corner-building through the entrances of which we may see hundreds of people constantly going in and out from early morning till late at night. This building we simply call "Passage". The ground-floor of this building is full of shops, whereas the upper floors are occupied by a hotel. Right across the street we have another Gorki Public Library

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corner building, the ground-floor of which is a beautiful jewelry store. In the old days in the basement of this building right under the present jewelry shop we had a very popular beer-hall "Gambrinus", which was so well described by the well known Russian writer A. Kuprin. Here seamen and port's stevedores used to enjoy the sad music played by Sashka on his violin. The post-war architecture is represented by numerous public buildings and apartment houses. One of the best is the new building of the Railway Station, built in 1952 by architect A. Chuprin. The old building was destroyed by the Nazis. It embodies by itself a monument to the HERO-CITY. The building of the station is decorated by sculpture groups, symbolizing heroic past of Odessa, its military and labor victories. The figures; 1905-1917-1944 remind of the victories during the first Russian revolutions, while the last figure represents the year of liberation from the Nazi yoke. With no exterior decor, though simple but nice and comfortable are the modern apartment houses of the Harvesting Machines Plant along the Krasnaya Gvardia Street. Alike are the houses of the Steel Rope Plant along Karl Libkneht Street, and those of the Power Station

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Central Railway Station along the Pasteur Street. The Writers' House in the Pirogov Street, the Artists' House in the Chkalov Street and several blocks of apartment houses of our seamen- along the Pyeryekopskaya Divisia Street. Modern buildings are to be found along the Gagarin Avenue and the Shevchenko Avenue. All these modern apartment houses naturally have all the modern conveniences necessary.

As a rule, in all these modern buildings, to

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every flat there is a balcony for the enjoyment of our summers. The new clubs and palaces are built with good taste. The Seamen's Palace and Lyesia Ukrainka Palace have been completely restored while the power station workers got a new club in the PyeryesYD District. Special care and attention is paid to building- and olannin of the new schools and colleges, children's nurseries and crushes, and sanatoriums as well. In this respect we would advise you to visit the new premises of the Technological Institute on Svyerdlov Street. the building of the Polytechnical Institute. the premises of the Institute of Canning and Refrigeration along the Pyotr Veliki Street and the new building of the Institute of Communications. The buildinlZs of our new schools are always roomy and full of light. Our impressions will not be complete if we do not visit the Proletarski Boulevard, one of the best corners of Odessa. One city engineer by the name of Zuyev wrote in 1915: "It is impermissible to consider that air and sun should be a privilege only for the expensive apartments. The construction of houses should be such, that the air and sun should be a common fortune both for the rich and the poor. All have the same right for this elixir of life". The

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New building of the Potytechnical Institute

closeness of the big cities, the big cost and irrationality of the houses, a constant tendency in the growth of the cities created an idea of a garden-city of the future. In England the book To-morrow was published by Howard; Morau dreamed of such planning, when every building "would bathe in air and light".

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Industrialists as Marazliptashnikov and others, who had erected wonderful villas for themselves. To-day the Prolyetarski Boulevard (ex French Boulevard) is full of green with comfortable rest homes, sanatoria, a botanical garden and the Filatov Institute. Now common people live here. The city has many other places of interest: nice boulevards, big squares and streets, and wonderful monuments of architecture, but it is impossible to speak about it all. We have many tours on our itinerary. Filatov Eyes' Clinic and Research Institute Further Zttyev wrote: "the French Boulevard is the nearest and most elegant of thoroughfares... I can imagine all its beauty to cornel...". In 1915 it was difficult, of course, for Zuyev to imagine anything, as in those days all the beauty was seized by such merchants and in

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THERE THE SKIES ARE CLEAR FOR LONG

I have visited Odessa for the first time,- said Jean Lasien, a French civil engineer,- and had the possibility of visiting new house construction sites, convalescent homes, parks, theatres, pioneers' children camps, the port. Paris is suffocating from insufficiency of trees in the city, whereas Odessa possesses "green lungs". I see Odessa when the chestnut trees are in full bloom. As I am walking in the park, which is overlooking the sea, I enjoy the beauty of Nature around me. What a beauty! Odessa is situated on the cross-roads of salty sea winds and aromatic winds of the steppes. "There the skies are clear for long",- was written by our poet Aleksandr Pushkin during his stay in Odessa. Though poetical observations don't need any statistical proof, nevertheless,

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Monument to A. S. Pushkin

for those who don't trust the poets we shall give some meteorological data of many years standing. Thus, the mean annual temperature here is + IO.2°C. The coldest month of the year - January has a mean temperature of -2.6°C. The warmest month being July with a temperature of +23°C. on average. Precipitation is rather small, the mean annual being 431.3 mm. In all there are about 250 sunny days in the year. By the amount of clear days - from May to September-Odessa leaves even Sochi behind, ranking second only to Yalta. One of the best proofs as to the amount of sunny days here, we may easily get, when we find out how many cinema companies come here all year round "to catch the sun", which is so indispensable when it comes to shooting films. Another proof to this effect are the beaches which are always crowded all along the coast of Odessa. Peculiar of the local climate is its mildness and warmth. The swimming season here lasts for half a year - from May to October. And even in winter you may find people taking a swim in the sea which hardly ever freezes. All these factors combined make Odessa a first-class health resort. "What should always be of interest to those

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"Rossiya" Sanatorium in Arcadia who come here for treatment are the medical baths that the sea and liman waters offer. The latter may either be silt or mud baths. The wonderful results achieved by the spas of Odessa are unfortunately not known well enough to public at large. Being situated on a dais, bordering the sea from the south and west and surrounded from north and east by the steppes, where nothing obstructs the free moving of the air, Odessa has one of the most healthy climates",

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Ivan Vitzman was writing this more than a century ago in his book, called - "Reflections on the benefit of sea baths, silt and liman baths in the district of Odessa". 125 years ago one could really do no more than just dream of this. In our time maximum benefit is derived from the wonderful climatic and other conditions of Odessa. Taking into consideration the growth of Odessa as an important resort, the Soviet Government already before the last war made a special decision for developing convalescent establishments here. For this purpose in 1928 a special Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute for Spa Treatment was founded in Odessa. This institute worked out the system of treatments in the re sort area of Odessa and other parts of the Ukraine. Odessa resorts specialize in climatic treatments and the spa. The spas are situated along the limans while the climatic ones all along the coast of the city from the district of Luzanovka up to Carolina Bugaz. In the southeastern part of the suburban area as well as in the western outskirts of the town, our city borders with three estuaries - the Kuyalnik Liman, the Khadzhibei Liman and the Sukhoi Liman. They are separated from the sea by narrow spits which were formed within a relatively

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short period of time. One of these wavebuilt alluviums gave a name to a whole district of Odessa,- the Pyeryesyp. For the start, let's go to one of the spas. From the centre of Odessa to the Kuyalnik Liman we have a distance of 13 km. It may be reached by bus. While en route we shall try to give you an idea of wha t' s it like. According to professor V. Aleksandrov, the well known resort specialist, the Kuyalnik Liman is of great interest especially for its big deposits of medical muds. Its mud layers are several meters deep while other well known spas of this type have layers of not more than 30-40 centimeters. This, as the specialists say, is a standard mud, and, sorry for the paradox,- mud in its fullest sense... The deposits of this high quality Kuyalnik muds are so big that we have no trouble in supplying regularly all the sanatoria of the city, including those out of town and even despatching to other cities within the country and several places abroad. Well here it is-the Kuyalnik Resort. Along the liman shore we have the sanatorium with mud-baths, where up-to-date treatment is introduced. In conjunction with mud-baths the patients get also gas-baths (carbon-oxide, sulpho-hydrogen and rodon), sea-baths and mineral-water-baths. Within the territory of this resort there is also a medical mineral spring with high health-giving qualities. As far as the taste is concerned the "Kuyalnik" mineral water may easily rival the best known mineral waters of the Caucasus. In the region of these springs we have recently built a mineral water factory with a capacity of 27 million bottles a year. The Kuyalnik Resort is well known for the treatment of chronical bone and joint diseases, the local nervous system and different orthopaedy sicknesses. Numerous examples could be given of cases when persons were brought

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here on stretchers and left by foot without the help of anyone, absolutely cured. It is claimed that in pre-war times a "museum" of crutches was formed by itself here on the grounds of the spa. The people that came with them were glad to throw them out on leaving. Practically similar health-giving results are obtained at the spa of Khadzhibei. Here as well, the liman muds are used in conj unction with salt-water. It should be noted that during the last war these resorts sustained big damage and destruction, the trees of the parks were cut down by the enemy, but today we don't think you willl be able to find a single trace of all these Nazi horrors. We have no time to treat every resort or sanatorium separately. Odessa has about 70 sanatoria and rest homes. In the Western understanding a "sanatorium" is usually an establishment for the treatment of either invalids or consumptives, whereas in our understanding of this word it is an establishment for the treatment

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of any type of disease. Usually every Soviet sanatorium specializes in one or several different illnesses. Annually about 250,000 people come to the local resorts to rest and recuperate. Recently we have started organizing mansions and motels for those coming to rest here by car. In Arcadia, one of the nicest resort areas of Odessa, we have such a motel. It is very popular with the public. If you will ever be in the region of the Lermontov Resort of Odessa, do call on it, as it is the oldest resort of the city and simultaneously the chief research zone of the Spa Treatment Research Institute. The Lermontov Resort is situated on a plateau, from which you may descend down to the sea by a terrace-like stairway of 220 meters. All the premises of the resort are always in the shade of trees. The lanes are lined with poplars. A beautiful panorama of the coastline from Shevchenko Park to the Cape of Arcadia opens up in front of you when you stand on the Lermontov Plateau. Here one may sit for hours enjoying the scenery around. Nothing can calm the nerves better than the sight of the sea. Here on a green meadow there is an open-air so larium, where convalescents, under the supervision of doctors, get their sun- and air-baths. Good treatment combined with marine conditions

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  make it possible to fight successfully such sicknesses as neurosis, the consequences of encephalitis and different diseases of the heart and its blood-vessels.  Besides those patients who come to this resort for a certain period, any person desiring to take just a course of treatment independent of the stay within the sanatorium, may easily do so just by paying a small sum.  The Lermontov Resort is of the type that accomodates convalescents all year round.  The picturesque coastline stretching for miles is all dotted w1th sanatoria and rest homes. Their premises are always full of sunlight and always surrounded by trees, bushes and flowers. Here right by the sea our workers enjoy their time.  Just visit, for example, any sanatorium in the region of Arcadia. You will see the snow white traceries of "Primoriye" ("By the sea");  the newly-built premises of "Moldova", the windows of which are always glittering with sun-light; the cosy cottages of "Arcad1a-Byeryegh" (the Russian tor "Arcadia-coast"), which are in the park neighboring the sea; the restored premises of the "Rossiya", a sanatorium that 1S capable of accommodating 1000 persons simultaneously.  People from the most remote parts of the  6*  

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Soviet Union come to rest in Odessa. You may meet people here, who ale working in the polar regions, the miners of the Donetz coal basin, the seamen from the Soviet Far East and workers from the Leningrad factories, metallurgists from Magnitogorsk and farmers from the Al tai regions of Siberia. The spacious beaches of Luzanovka are especially tine. It's pleasant to lie here on the velvet-like sand on a sunny day... A slogan could be written at the entrance of every sanatorium: "The health of the people comes first!" And that is really so. Sanatorium and rest home accommodations are distributed by the professional unions. In most cases they are given at considerably reduced prices, the workers usually paying only 30% of their actual cost. Many such accommodations are distributed free of charge for the account of the enterprises, state and collective, farms. Many such accommodations are given for a cruise on board the "Admiral Nakhimov", which in the summer months is turned into a floating rest home. Many factories, plants and mills have special night sanatoria, which are either attached ,. At the children's sanatorium in Luzanovka

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to the enterprises or are located in the vicinity of the sea. Within a period of one month, as a rule, those who are staying in this type of sanatoria, are taken there by bus directly after working hours and back to work in the morning. One may get acquainted with this kind of night sanatorium in the region of the Bolshoi Fontan (the English for Bolshoi Fontan is the Big Fountain, though in reality there is no fountain here whatsoever. It's just a name of a district, that we have by tradition). People don't get their health restored just through the system of sanatoria and rest homes. At the disposal of the Odessa health-service system there a re numerous polyclinics, hospitals, maternity-hospitals, medical scientific research institutes and other establishments of the kind, where every citizen gets treated free of charge as this is the law of the state. To foreigners things like this are hard to understand as they are most unusual to them. Once a group of Greek seamen was taken to one of the city hospitals. They were in urgent need of medical attention. The seamen perceived with some fear and distrust the way they were taken care of. The reason was not that they distrusted the doctors. They were afraid of another thing. They thought that such care and attention would finally end up in a

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nice fat bill... The seamen could not believe at once that in this country people don't even know what is a doctor's bill! The seamen of the Norwegian tanker "Tarstar" once visited the Mother & Child Room of our Central Railway Station, and this is what they wrote: -"Bewildered and surprised by the order and warmth with which the passengers are treated. Wish we could have the same for the welfare of our people in Norway". For the welfare of the people ... Just for this,- for their welfare, for their health the medical establishments of the city are being constantly expanded. About one - third of the city's budget is used for the needs of the work ers' health-service. In 1913 to every 10,000 inhabitants we had only 13 doctors, whereas by the end of 1961 we had 64 of them. The city has many hospitals, polyclinics, dispensaries, maternity and child ren consultations. Odessa plans to build many new medical establishments in the new districts of the town, where house construction is progressing on a grand scale. Health service is well organized right at the factories and other enterprises, where they have not only dispensaries of their own but even polyclinics, which are equipped with the

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most modern equipment. Such clinics may be found at the Cable Factory, the Crane Works and at many others. Many wonderful representatives of our medical world worked here in Odessa. Thus, the first Russian Bacteriological Centre was organized here by I. I. Mechnikov. It was the first Pasteur Station of Russia and the second in the world. Now this station has been turned into a big scientific research institute headed by a woman-scientist, Doctor of Biological Sciences,I. D. Anina-Radchenko. Odessa witnessed the work of our renowned surgeon and teacherN. I. Pirogov. Among the well known scientists in the field of medicine that at one time or another graduated from the Novorossiisk University (now Odessa University) were D. K. Zabolotny- the first President of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, V. A. Khavkin - Director of the Bombay Institute. To the latter we owe the honour of discovery of the anti-plague vaccinatioll. N. F. Gamalyeya and academician V. P. Filatov are also among the celebrated people of our university graduates. At present in the hospitals and clinics of Odessa University

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we have many experienced surgeons, therapeutists, ophtalmologists, and other specialists, who by their work enrich the Soviet medical science. Sports play not the least role in health protection of the Soviet citizens. Their motto is Health, Might and Beauty. In Odessa, as in the other cities of the Soviet Union, the gates of the sport fields are always wide open for the people. The traditions of Odessa in different sports are quite varied. Odessa happens to be one of the first cities of Russia that gave birth to the bicycle sport and aviation. It was here that Syerghei Utochkin glorified Russia by his first flights. At the dawn of aviation, in the beginning of this century, and in the skies of many countries Utochkin scored many victories. "The Odessites know what is a real football game" - these are not words of an enthusiastic football fan. This saying belongs to Andrei Starostin, the veteran of Soviet sport, which we quote from his book The Big Foot ball. In our time the people participate in physical culture activities and sports on a nation wide scale. Judge by yourself - at present just in Odessa we have 856 different sport teams.

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the stadium which unite 200,000 people under the banners of different Sport Societies. These banners are decorated by numerous victories of the teams and sportsmen on the stadium battle-fields of our country and abroad. The people of Rome, New York, Havanna and other cities applauded to Margareth NikoIayeva of Odessa, our wonderful girl-gymnast. At the XVII Olympic Games she won the gold medal, she was also awarded the honourable title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR and the title of International Master. The ex-chess champion of the USSR Ephim Geller is still a successful participant of the many All-Union and International Champion 01068

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ships. Among the well known names in the sport circles we should mention such represen tatives of the track-and-field athletics as Boris Rykov; Masters of Sport - Emma Pchelintze va, Larissa Zayakina, the Honored Master of Sport of the USSR Our stand-shooting champion - Yuri Nikandrov and others. The achievements of the volley-ball teams of Odessa are widely recognized as well. It is even difficult to say which sport is appreciated more in Odessa, football or volley-ball. Both of them are very popular here. More than 9,000 play football and about 12,000 participate in volleyball. The Men and Women's teams are often successful participants in the All-Union championships and of their Republic. The women's team of "Buryevyestnik" became the USSR champion of 1961, the men's team won silver medals. The girls of "Buryevyestnik" won the "Big Crystal" Prize. In other fields our sportsmen are guite prominent as well. Thus 28 athletes of the track and-field are members of the United Ukrai nian Team. Our heavy athletes attained the second prizes in the republican championships. Odessa holds the first and second position in several other fields. Last but not least, we should mention the hippodrome of Odessa. Annual All-Union equestrian competitions are held here, as well as motorcycle races. Regattas are held in Odessa quite often too. But sport is not just beauty. It is - health and might. It is a harmonious and all-sided development of a person, as well as cheerful and happy toil. For this reason when at 11 a.m. sharp we hear the voice of Radio Moscow calling: - Attention! We are starting our daily setting-in exercise... and simultaneously thousands of people of Odessa right at their working places start this morning exercise... "Five minutes for health" - is the name of these gymnastics in time of work. Odessa has 5 sport schools for children, 18 stadiums, over a 100 basketball, 200 volleyball fields, 87 gymnasiums, 27 yachting and boating stations and clubs, 2 swimming pools and a new yacht club is under construction. On the stadiums, sport fields and boating stations of Odessa often All-Union and International Championships are held. In Odessa the skies are really clear for longl Here everyone will get the possibility of enjoying a healthy rest or enjoy himself in sports and tourism.

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IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE

ans from the dreary embraces of eternal darkness"... - These words belong to a doctor from Egypt who came here for treatment and was cured. He stayed for treatment at the famous Filatov Institute. It certainly needs no advertisement. The fame of healing of its doctors has spread throughout the world. The buildings of the Institute are situated on the Prolyetarski Boulevard on a coast high above the sea. People who lost their eyesight, who haven't seen light for years, always come here. The medical personnel of this outstanding clinic does everything possible to restore their eyesight. Many people from abroad - from Vietnam, Korea, Poland, the Uniteo Arab Republic, England, having lost their eyesight, saw the sun again just here in Odessa. May be this is another reason why Odessa is called the SUNNY CITY! The founder of the Ukrainian Experimental Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy, Vladimir Petrovich Filatov made a number of important discoveries in the field of ophthalmology and in other medical fields. To him we owe a whole galaxy of talented doctorsophthalmologists. Among them is the present

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spent 40 days in the Filatov Institute. Every worker of the Institute does everything he can to preserve the eyesight and restore the perceptibility of light to the patient, if not the light itself then the hope that it will come to him some day. The patient of any country, nationality and colour of skin is given every attention and meticulous care. I shall never forget the day when '" after there weeks' treatment I could see the first rays of light. The hearty joy of doctors is the manifestation of supreme love to man - which is a characteristic feature of the socialist society built by Soviet people. ...I consider it my duty to make the ties between the Egyptian oculists and the Institute stronger and stronger; the achievements of this Institute will save thousands of Egypti

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In the park on Deribassovskaya Street director of the institute - Hero of Socialist Labor, professor N. A. Puchkovskaya. The main building houses 7 clinical departments with accommodation for several hundred patients. Here with the help of the most up-to-date equipment and preparations the transplantation of the eye cornea is carried out; glaucoma and many other serious illnesses are being treated. Wonderful are the achievements of the ins titute in working out the principle of tissue therapy. Now this method is widely used not

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only for the treatment of the eyes but in other diseases as well both here and abroad. The institute was the first in the country to organize a factory for the production of biogenetical stimulators. Such stimulators as extracts from aloes, placenta, FIBS and others have a constant demand. They have been proved beneficial in the general improvement of the state of organism especially during the course of treatment of the eyes. Several figures may demonstrate the activi ties of the institute: during the post-war period over 1 million people received treatment in its dispensaries and about 45,000 operations were performed! Scientists from 20 countries have recently visited the institute. But we have to visit other enterprises of the city of no less interest. To these belongs the All-Union Scientific Reasearch Institute of Selection and Genetics, which has been awarded the Order of Labor. In order to get an approximate idea of the scope of work of this institute it would be enough to say that 15 million hectares (approx. 371/2 mn. acres) of our lands at present are being sown up by different seeds which have been selected here. Such wonderful specialists of the institute as the Lenin Prize winner academician F. G. Kirichenko,

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A. S. Mussiiko, F. A. Dolgushin are working on the problem of creating new sorts of wheat, maize and other plants of high yields with immunity to draughts and cold. The scientists are closely connected with our state and collective farms. They help them with new sorts of seeds and give advices. They willingly share their big experience and achievements both with our and foreign specialists in agriculture. The institute receives mail from all parts of the world: from Czechoslovakia and Canada, Bulgaria and Cuba, Argentina and France, Rumania and numerous other countries. It exchanges scientific experience with fo reign specialists. After the requests of foreign scientists and farmers, rural co-operatives, it sends the seeds of those sorts which have been created by them. For example, the "Odesskaya--IO" maize, which proved to be very good, was sent to the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Rumania, Afghanistan and the United States of America. In Odessa we have also the Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Wine-Growing and Wine-Making. This institute is also named after its founder - Tairov. We recommend to vi sit its plantations. You will find here numerous vineyards with wonderful amber-like bunches

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of grapes of course, if you are not traveling off-season). Please remember the well known European sorts, such as "Saba Pearl", "Cara burnu", "Hamburg Muskatelle", "Chaush". The scientists there will show you the new "Tairov" sorts created by them. Just as the new sorts of wheat and maize created by scientists of the Institute of Genetics and Selection, similarly the new sorts of grapes created by specialists of the Tairov Institute are gaining more and more grounds in Molda via and Georgia, Ukraine and Armenia... Before the revolution there was a small scientific research station founded by V. E. Tairov, the well-known Russian scientist - viticulturist, who managed to get his funds only through subscription. This station was dragging on a miserable existence, having a plot of land of only 50 hectares. In 1931 this station was transformed into a scientific research institute. During 35 years of its existence the scientists of the institute made an important contribution to the science of wine-making, in developing new agrotechnical methods and in different selections of this plant. They considerably sponsored the development of viticulture and winemaking in the Ukraine. Within its well equipped laboratories new brands of Tairov wines are created. By the

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way, we should note that the Champagne brand of the Odessa Champagne Factory may well rival with the corresponding brands of France. But research work is not confined to the laboratories only. The SOO-hectare area of vineyards is also an open-air laboratory of the scientists. The scientists of the Institute of Spa Treatment are working on many interesting and useful problems. But since we spoke well enough of the local resorts, for those who want to get acquainted with our methods of spa treatment as well as with the new works of our specialists in this line, we advise to refer directly to the management of the Institute, which you will find on the Yasnaya Street No.6. This is by far not the whole list of scientific centres of Odessa. During the last years new scientific research institutes were founded, among them - the Ukrainian Institute of Canning Industry and Institute of Designing and Automation of the Food Industry. The life of science is in full vigour within the laboratories and different departments of the Mechnikov State University of Odessa. The past and present of this educational centre is closely connected with the names of renowned scientists who made an immense contribution to our national science. We already mentioned the names of such outstanding scientists as

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D. I. Mendyelyeyev, I. M. Syechenov, I. I. Me chnikov, V. A. Khavkin, and others who great ly contributed to the fame of Russian science. At present such well known scientists as astronomer professor V. P. Tsesyevich, professor R. R. Fyedoseyev and many others are work ing here. At present over 7,000 students study at its 10 faculties. Every year hundreds of young specialiststeachers of secondary and technical schools, workers of scientific research institutions graduate from here. Simultanoeusly numerous workers of industry and argiculture get their university education here by correspon dence. Our medical institute, which is one of the biggest of its kind in the Ukraine has also many outstanding scientists and teachers. Specialists of high qualification are being prepared by the local Poly technical Institute and the Odessa Institute of Technology. Here, as in the other institutes of the country we have both evening and correspondence departments, where, people who are working, may get their college education. Among these are hun dreds of factory workers, farmers and office people of Odessa and its region. The author of numerous scientific papers and textbooks, which have been translated into foreign

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languages, professor V. A. Dobrovolski worked at the Odessa Poly technical Institute. There is no necessity of speaking of every institute or college of Odessa. But, nevertheless, we should mention two more: the Institute of Marine Engineers and the Nautical College, which are really important educational centres for preparing personnel of highest qualification both for seafaring and port administration. Many well known captains who are plying at present the four oceans, as well as thousands of navigation officers and engineers, working in all the shipping companies of the country were once students of these colleges. Among the members of the crew aboard the first surface nuclear ship of the world, the icebreaker "Lenin", we can also find our ex students. In all the city has 14 colleges and 26 tech nical schools with over 95,000 students. By the number of institutes Odessa ranks as the fifth city of the country. Our students have all the necessary means for successful studies. Libraries and reading halls, well equipped hostels are all at the disposal of the students. All of them study free of charge and they get stipends and scholarships besides, and all this for the account of the state. At the desks of roomy lecture-halls next to

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Russians and Ukrainians you may see Vietnamese and Poles, Bulgarians and Hungarians, Rumanians and Cubans and students from many African states. Foreign students not only study together with our Soviet students, but they live together in the hostels and pass away their free time together too. Our students always give a helping hand to students from abroad in learning Russian and special subjects as well.

READING THE ADS this is not a problem as there are many places to go. The city has many theatres as the people like art here. This is easy to find out just by reading the advertisements. So let's see what's on within, say, ten days only...

In 6 theatres of Odessa, the Circus, the Philharmonic Society, the dozens of amateur clubs, the numerous cinemas and factory and office clubs of the city, as well as the open-air cinemas and theatres there is plenty of things to see and enjoy oneself. The Opera and Ballet Theatre will show in the next few days the famous ballet by P. I. Chaikovski - "Swan Lake"; "Carmen" by Bizet and "Aida" by Verdi, and finally "Spartacus" by Khachuturian. In the Theatre of Russian Drama we may enjoy either a classic such as Chekhov's "Cherry Orchard" or a modern play by Arbuzov, such as the "Irkutsk Story". Very popular among the local public are the performances staged in the local Theatre of Ukrainian Drama. Here we enjoy plays by O. Kobylyanskaya, A. Korneichuk, F. Schiller and others. The Theatre of Musical Comedy is rightly considered as one of the country's best theatres of this type.

But Odessa is famous not only for its educational establishments. Its theatre life is quite varied and deserves a mention too. Mender, an Australian publicist, in his book - From Six Till Midnight - wanted to make a thorough study of what is a common Australian doing in his free time from work. What are our citizens doing in their free time? Though briefly, but still we would like to show it. However, there is, of course, the difference in time as our workman's day lasts only 7 hours whereas in many industries it is already a six-hour working day, so he leaves work much earlier than many of his colleagues working abroad. When a person is free after work it is quite natural for him to plan something, to think of where to go and what to do? For an Odessite

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Theatre of Urkainian D.rama

In the Circus one finds not only children but hundreds of adults as well. They come to enjoy the splendid animal shows such that only Durav may stage as well as unusual shows of the acrobats and clowns. Meanwhile the spacious hall of the Philharmonic Society will witness the graduate of our Conservatoire and native of Odessa - Galina Oleinichenko, who is now a soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow. We very often enjoy wonderful performances by foreign artists as well. They always get a cheerful welcome from our public.

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So when the evening comes - the citizens of the city have places where to go, to rest and to pass away the time. At the disposal of those who don't want to spend the evening within the halls of theatres and cinemas, we have the open-air theatres of Philarmonic in the city park, where one will see a gay variety show or visit the Green Theatre in the Central Park. Or one may just take a stroll in the park and listen to the symphony orchestra of the Philarmonic which gives regular concerts there free of charge. Shortly, there are many interesting things to do both for young and old. Oh yes, we didn't say a word yet about the numerous public libraries, about the public lectures in the clubs and lecture halls, about the social universities of culture, houses of technique, where one may listen to any lecture of interest to him, on such themes as - the futur