Russia strikes at House of Scientists in Odesa: photos of attack aftermath

On Sunday, July 23, Russians shelled Odesa, damaging a historic nineteenth-century building, the House of Scientists, located in Count Tolstoy's Palace

Espreso journalists visited the scene.

As a result of the strike, the windows and ancient stained glass windows were smashed in the House, and the blast wave damaged the old furniture. The garden in the courtyard was also completely destroyed.

A security guard of a restaurant located next door was killed.

Photo: Arty Lago

The House of Scientists in Odesa was established in 1923 and is considered one of the first in the USSR and the first in Ukraine. In 1934, it moved to the palace of philanthropist Count Mikhail Tolstoy. The palace building itself was built in 1832 by architect F. K. Boffo for the chamberlain Horvath, and later bought by Tolstoy.

The House of Scientists continued to operate in 1941-1944, during the occupation of Odesa by Romanian troops.

Biliaivka.City notes that in the 1990s, they wanted to create a business club in the House of Scientists, but its director, Halyna Tereshchenko, appealed to UNESCO, and the building remained the property of the city.

In 2000, a museum of the House of Scientists was opened here, with exhibits and documents collected by Tereshchenko. In 2002, the House of Scientists received the status of an enterprise and the right to conduct commercial activities.