More than 25,000 votes were received by a petition whose author proposes to replace the monument to the Russian Empress Catherine II with a monument to the American pornographic actor Billy Herrington.
“A monument project is being proposed where actor Billy Herrington will sit at the bar with a bottle of beer. In this way, we will win on several points at once,” — The text of the petition says published on the website of Zelensky’s office.
The appeal noted that Catherine II (who at the end of the 18th century, 228 years ago, signed a decree on the construction of Odessa. Editor’s note) is a debatable historical figure who caused great damage to Ukrainian statehood and culture. According to the author of the petition, the installation of a monument to the porn actor will mark a “clear signal” about Ukraine’s support for the LGBT community. In addition, this sculpture will become a popular tourist attraction.
The author of the petition explains that Catherine II is a controversial figure who caused great harm to the statehood and culture of Ukraine.
“The very fact of erecting this monument was a terrible mistake, and every day of its further existence signals that Odessa is in the zone of Russian cultural influence. It’s time to change this,” says Matveev and proposes to install a sculpture of Gerrington, an actor, on the site of the monument to Catherine II. who starred in porn movies in the 90s.
Herrington stopped acting in 2008 and moved into the construction business. In 2018, he died in a car accident. The actor is also the subject of memes. The idea to “perpetuate” him in a Ukrainian city is not new; in Zaporozhye last year, it was proposed to name a square in his honor, as Forpost wrote.
There is another petition on the President’s website regarding the monument to Catherine II. The author Stefaniya Tsegelnyk proposes to demolish it: “Stop allocating millions of hryvnias for the maintenance of the monument to the one that contributed to the genocide of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples, destroyed the Zaporozhian Sich, introduced a policy of forced Russification and dictate of foreign culture, turning free Ukrainians into slaves, establishing serfdom. In an independent It is unacceptable for Ukraine to glorify our enslavers. The place for monuments to tyrants and murderers of Ukrainians is in a landfill.”
The monument to Catherine II in Odessa is installed on Catherine’s Square, in the historical center of the city. Its official name is “Monument to the founders of Odessa”, and unofficial, as Yuzhne.City notes, is “Monument to Catherine and her lovers” (at the feet of the statue of the Empress are sculptures of Admiral José de Ribas, engineer Francois de Volan and princes Grigory Potemkin and Platon Zubov).
The monument was erected in 1900. After the revolution of 1917, it was demolished, the remains of bronze sculptures were kept in the local history museum of the city, in 2007, during the restoration of the square, the monument was returned to its original place. Over the 15 years, several lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to cancel the return of the monument.
In the summer of 2017, the Primorsky District Court of Odessa declared it illegal and canceled the decision of the Odessa City Council to install a monument to the founders of Odessa on Ekaterininskaya Square. In the same year, the Institute of National Remembrance offered the Odessa City Council to dismantle the monument. However, in April 2019, the Supreme Court of Ukraine put an end to the disputes and decided to leave the monument.
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