On the occasion of Odesa’s Birthday, we presented another gift to the city from our Club at the Literary Museum. The hundredth, anniversary issue of the Deribasovskaya–Richelievskaya almanac is now being published.
It is an absolute record in Odesa’s history — twenty-six uninterrupted years of a literary and local-history series. No other Odesa book series has lasted this long.
The centenary issue brings together archival materials from different years as well as completely new texts. I wrote about this in detail in the introductory article to the issue. It is a look back at the entire journey we have made, and at the same time a lively conversation about today’s Odesa, its people, streets, and memory.
I am happy that the almanac has had the same editor-in-chief throughout all these years, Felix Kokhriht, for whom this publication is, without the slightest exaggeration, a life’s work.
And I cannot fail to mention his colleagues and companions who are no longer with us — deputy editors Yevhen Holubovsky and Oleh Hubar.
On City Day, on Langeronovskaya Street, a star was unveiled on the Walk of Fame in honour of Yevhen Mykhailovych, Vice President of our Club and an Honorary Citizen of Odesa. He founded the newspaper Worldwide Odesa News and edited it for many years. For more than a decade, he hosted the cultural programmes The End of the Century and The New Century. For more than ten years, he headed the legendary literary studio The Green Lamp, which introduced the city to many remarkable names. He would have turned ninety this December.
Today, at the presentation, we will also honour the winners of the first international literary competition, Odessiada. Out of 102 stories submitted, the jury selected three winners. It is deeply symbolic that the competition brought together authors from different cities and countries, united by one theme — Odesa.
Our special and warmest words of gratitude go to the patrons who have supported the almanac throughout all these years — Vladislav Aleksandrovich Vaisman, Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Mardan, and Oleh Isaakovych Platonov.
And special thanks to our partners today — Zhanna Kryuchkova, co-owner of the Stikon and Almaz companies, founder of Huxley Media and the Intellectual Capital Charitable Foundation, and Kateryna Tkachenko, Director of the Foundation.
Without your support and your belief that the printed word still matters, this anniversary might never have been possible.
There are no former Odesa residents, and a good almanac, like a good caravan, always keeps moving forward.
We are opening the second hundred!
The full recording of the almanac presentation by Volodymyr Bohatyryov
Ivan Liptuga, President of WCO
