Odesa City Hall

The frontage features two large statues depicting Ceres and Mercury in their roles as the goddess of agriculture and the god of trade respectively, marking the building's original purpose as an Exchange.

Initially, on both sides of the entrance to the niches were sculptures of a lion and a bear made by Joseph and Peter Genari.

[2] In front of the building is a small square called "Dumska", containing a monument to Alexander Pushkin who spent 13 months in Odesa,[3] and a Naval artillery recovered from the British frigate HMS Tiger, that grounded and was sunk near the town during the Crimean War.

The mayor explained the reasons for those actions were intentions to prevent renaming a city street after the Soviet Army.

According to the official press release of Svoboda, the protest event took place after one of members of the city council was not allowed to participate in a session.