Let’s travel for a moment. Imagine you are on the shore of the Black Sea, in Odesa—one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe.

Odesa possesses multiple identities and refuses to be trapped by a single definition. It is Jewish, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar, Romanian, Moldovan, Greek, Bulgarian, and more. Both the Russian and Soviet empires sought to flatten this multiplicity into a single imperial identity. They failed.

Today, in an act of resentment, Russia is attempting to destroy Odesa. Missiles and drones fall upon its historic center, a site of UNESCO World Heritage.

Meanwhile, Odesa is seeking a new identity. It is a work in progress—not yet fully formed—which makes the city incredibly vibrant and, in many ways, still misunderstood.

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This is the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Julian Evans, a British-Australian journalist, writer, traveler, and filmmaker. His latest book, Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War, published by Scotland Street Press, shares his personal story of Odesa through his friendships and family connections.

Book: https://www.scotlandstreetpress.com/product/undefeatable-odesa-in-love-and-war

Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld and brought to you by Internews Ukraine.

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Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

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CONTENTS:

0:00. Intro. Odesa's Multifaceted Identity and Current War

5:13 Julian Evans' Personal Connection and Wartime Challenges

10:20 Odesa's European Roots Versus Russian Imperial Claims

15:25 The Changing Ukrainian Identity of Odesa

20:45 Dismantling the "Russian World" Imperial Fantasies about Odesa

25:50 Cultural De-Russification and Personal Impact

31:00 Human Stories and the Spirit of Odesan Survival

36:10 Odesa's Enduring Beauty and Resilience Under Attack

39:27 "Undefeatable Odesa": A Spirit of Freedom