The townspeople loved Prince Vorontsov very much and after his death they decided to erect a monument in the very heart of Odessa – on Sobornaya Square. The idea was supported by Emperor Alexander II, who was the first to contribute three thousand rubles for the construction. Donations for the monument came from all over Russia. In total, they managed to collect 37,000 rubles – a huge amount of money at that time. The bronze statue was ordered in Germany. And 11 heavy stone blocks for the pedestal were delivered from Artek by ship. They were so large that they could not be loaded into the hold and were left on the deck. Because of this, the ship almost sank when it got caught in a storm. But everything worked out. The monument was ceremoniously opened to the roar of fireworks.
During the Soviet years, the monument to the Russian nobleman haunted the communists. To begin with, they broke off the memorial plaque and replaced it with Pushkin's epigram: "Half-lord, half-merchant, Half-sage, half-ignoramus, half-scoundrel, but there is hope that he will finally be complete." The irony is that Pushkin and Vorontsov were sworn enemies.
But the Bolsheviks did not stop there and decided to tear down the monument. They brought a tractor and threw an iron chain over the statue. But when the car started moving, the chain broke. But the monument remained standing. Since then, Vorontsov has stood on Cathedral Square. Handsome, proud. He survived both Pushkin's caustic attacks and the Soviet government.
Translated by Google •
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