Culture of Odesa explained

The culture of Odesa is a unique blend of Russian, Yiddish, and Ukrainian cultures, and Odesa itself has played a notable role in Russian and Yiddish folklore.^[1]

Dialects

See main article: Odesan Russian. The Russian language as spoken in Odesa is influenced by Yiddish and Ukrainian in grammar, vocabulary, and phraseology. As a result, many phrases sound inherently and uniquely humorous to Russian speakers and constitute a staple of Odesa humour. Also, the Odesa dialect of Yiddish has plenty of Russianisms.^[1]

Cultural image of Odesa

To a significant extent the image of Odesa in Russophone culture is influenced by The Odessa Tales of Isaac Babel. Odesa is often referred to by the collocation "Odesa Mama" (Mom Odesa), a term that originated in Russian criminal (blatnoy) subculture.^[1] The reputation of the city as a criminal center originated in Imperial Russian times and the early Soviet era, and is similar to the reputation of Al Capone era Chicago.^[2]

Odesa humor

Odesa humor is a notable part of both Jewish humor and Russian humor.^[3]

Since 1972 Odesa has been hosting the annual festival of humor, Humorina. For this and other reasons Odesa was known as the "capital of humor" in the Soviet Union.^[4]

Memorable places

See main article: Odesa. Many places in Odesa are memorable not only for their intrinsic cultural value, but also for their place in Odesa folklore.

• Duc de Richelieu monument
• Derybasivska Street
• Moldavanka
• Odesa catacombs
• Potemkin Stairs
• Prymorskyi Boulevard
• Pryvoz Market

Further reading

• Maurice Friedberg, "How Things Were Done in Odesa: Cultural and Intellectual Pursuits in a Soviet City" (1991) (The book is about the life and culture of Odesa of the Soviet era. Its title is an allusion to a Babel's short story "How Things Were Done in Odesa" from The Odesa Tales)
• Anatoli Barbakaru, "Odesa-Mama: Kataly, Kidaly, Shulera" (1999)
• Rebecca Stanton, "Identity Crisis: The Literary Cult and Culture of Odesa in the Early Twentieth Century", Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Foreign Literatures 57, No. 3 (2003) pp. 117-126.
• Brian Horowitz, ''Myths and Counter-Myths about Odesa's Jewish Intelligentsia during the Late-Tsarist Period,'' Jewish Culture and History 16, 3-4, 2014, 210-224.
• Steven J. Zipperstein, The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794-1881

Notes and References

1. Robert A. Rothstein, "How It Was Sung in Odessa: At the Intersection of Russian and Yiddish Folk Culture", Slavic Review, vol. 60, no. 4 (2001), pp. 781-801
2. Roshanna P. Sylvester, " Tales of Old Odessa: Crime and Civility in a City of Thieves" (2005)
3. http://odessareview.com/humor-odessa-traditions-modern-times/ Humor in Odesa: Traditions and Modern Times
4. Book: Малая энциклопедия городов. 2001. 9789666700059.