| |
|
Odessa
Odessa (Ukrainian: Одеса; Russian: Одесса; also known as Odesa) is the fourth largest city in Ukraine.[2] Population: 1,029,000 (2001 Ukrainian Census), 1,012,500 (est. 2004).
The city is a major seaport on the Black Sea, the largest port in Ukraine.
From 1819–1858 Odessa was a free port (porto franco). During the Soviet period it was the most important port of trade in the U.S.S.R. and a Soviet naval base. On January 1, 2000 the Quarantine Pier of Odessa trade sea port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a term of 25 years.
In the 19th century it was the fourth city of Imperial Russia, after Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw.[3] Its historical architecture has a flavor more Mediterranean than Russian, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles.
 Odessa is a warm water port, but of limited military value. Turkey's control of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus has enabled NATO to control water traffic between Odessa and the Mediterranean Sea. The city of Odessa hosts two important ports: Odessa itself and Yuzhny (also an internationally important oil terminal), situated in the city's suburbs. Another important port, Illichivs'k (or Ilyichyovsk), is located in the same oblast, to the south-west of Odessa. Together they represent a major transportation junction integrated with railways. Odessa's oil- and chemical-processing facilities are connected to Russia's and EU's respective networks by strategic pipelines.
Famous people of Odessa;
Poet Anna Akhmatova was born in Bolshoy Fontan near Odessa. The city has produced many writers, including Isaac Babel, Ilf and Petrov, and Yuri Olesha. Ze'ev Jabotinsky, a Zionist leader and author, was born in Odessa. The chess player Efim Geller was born in the city. (All listed, except for Olesha and Petrov, are representatives of the city's Jewish community.) Gymnast Tatiana Gutsu known as "The Painted Bird of Odessa" brought home Ukraine's first Gold Medal as an independent nation when she outscored the USA's Shannon Miller in the women's All-Around event at 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona Spain.
The most popular Russian show-business people from Odessa are Yakov Smirnoff (comedian), Mikhail Zhvanetsky (legendary humorist writer, who began his career as port engineer) and Roman Kartsev (comedian). Zhvanetsky's and Kartsev's success in 1970s, together with Odessa's KVN team, much contributed to Odessa's established status of a "capital of Soviet humour", culminating in the annual Humorina festival, carried out on and around the April Fool's Day. Odessa is the home of Greek philologist, author and promoter of Demotic Greek Ioannis Psycharis (1854-1929).
Odessa has also produced several famous musicians, including the violinists Nathan Milstein, David Oistrakh and Igor Oistrakh, and pianists Benno Moiseiwitsch, Vladimir de Pachmann, Shura Cherkassky, Emil Gilels, Maria Grinberg, Simon Barere, and Yakov Zak.
More on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odessa
http://www.odessa.ua/?lang=en
http://www.2odessa.com/wiki/Main_Page
|
|
|
