This roundabout-sized plaza, located where Prospect Shevchenko enters the Arcadia raion, is named for April 10, 1944 — the day Odesa was liberated from Nazi occupation by the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Forty years later, on the anniversary, the Soviets planted a tall, slim obelisk here, meant to broadcast triumph and ideological permanence.
Locals, of course, had other ideas. With classic Odesa humor, they promptly nicknamed it "the thermometer" and, more irreverently, "the impotent's dream" — a gentle reminder that even solemn memorials don't escape this city's sharp wit. Today, the monument stands less as a Soviet statement and more as a landmark around which modern Odesa moves, laughs, debates, and redefines itself.
The offending Soviet symbols, which have since been removed.
Soviet Symbols, Changing Times
At the base of the obelisk sit two stone blocks that once carried the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal — awards given to Odesa for its wartime defense. Like many Soviet symbols across Ukraine, they've become flashpoints for public discussion. In this case, activists took matters into their own hands, removing the bas-reliefs in 2024. Police filed disorderly-conduct reports; the activists countered that Leninist iconography belongs in a museum, not on the streets of a free and democratic Ukraine.
April 10th Square in 1989 from a Soviet Guidebook
And here is where I'll add my own traveler's perspective: Monuments to communist party figures and Soviet imperial symbolism fit best in museums, where they can be interpreted, explained, and debated. But monuments to the ordinary and extraordinary people who defended Odesa — those deserve a place in the open air, where the city can honor them without carrying the baggage of the regime that once framed their stories.
The Square Today
Despite its heavy history, April 10 Square is one of the more pleasant outdoor nooks of modern Odesa. Wide steps wrap around the monument, forming informal amphitheater seating — a place for locals to hang out on summer evenings, but crowds never form. The flower beds circling the plaza are true works of art, meticulously kept by city gardeners who treat seasonal plantings like their own rotating gallery.
Just a couple years ago, the monument was an ugly grey and needing repairs, which the city did, creating the lovely white column of today.
From here, Henuiezka Street — named for Odesa's sister city, Genoa — leads downhill toward Arcadia, one of the city's most modern and upscale districts. Shopping centers, spas, hotels, and cafés line the route, and a tram trundles past the square towards Arcadia Alley, eventually delivering beachgoers straight to the Black Sea.
What the Inscriptions Say
The stone squares at the obelisk's base bare long Soviet inscriptions — typical of the era — declaring Moscow's gratitude to Odesa for its bravery in the "Great Patriotic War."
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR, awarding the city of Odesa with the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star Medal. For the outstanding services to the Motherland, courage and heroism demonstrated by the working people of Odesa in fighting for their freedom against Nazi–fascist invaders, and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Great Victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945, award the city of Odesa with the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star Medal. Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR A. Mikoyan Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR M. Heorhadze Moscow, Kremlin, 8 May 1965
They list the local Heroes of the Soviet Union, including Rodion Malinovsky, the Odesa-born commander who led the liberation of the city. His bust still stands elsewhere in Odesa, though it too has become part of the ongoing decommunization debate and has been repeatedly targeted by activists.
The tension around these memorials highlights a larger story: Odesa is actively choosing how to tell its past. It is sorting what deserves reverence, what belongs behind glass, and what no longer merits a pedestal at all. For travelers, April 10 Square offers not only a snapshot of wartime memory but a front-row seat to how a living city reshapes its own narrative.
And if you're planning on going to Arcadia, why not get off at the square and enjoy a nice leisurely walk down Henuiezka Street to the sea. Or perhaps take a nice leisurely stroll around Peremoha (Victory) Park, whose entrance is just steps away...
View of the square from Peremoha Park (Photo by Nataliia Benet)
