A petition demanding the demolition of a statue of Russian Empress Catherine the Great to be replaced with a statue honoring gay U.S. porn star Billy Herrington has acquired enough signatures to ensure that it must be considered by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
As of the publication of this report, the petition, which comes months into Russia’s war in Ukraine, had 25,786 signatures. It is required by law that any petition surpassing 25,000 signatures must be considered by the president of Ukraine. The petition must be considered within 10 days of reaching the required number of signatures.
THE CULTURAL LABYRINTH OF ODESSA
The petition, started on May 20 by Ukrainian activist Oleksiy Yuriyovych Matveev, decries Catherine the Great as an oppressive figure to Ukrainians, claiming she “caused great damage to Ukrainian statehood and culture.” He added, “The very fact of erecting this monument was a terrible mistake, and every day of its continued existence signals that Odessa is in the zone of Russian cultural influence.”
The petition gives several reasons as to why a gay U.S. porn star should take her place, mainly that it will serve as a “renunciation of the infamous Russian heritage and a loud statement that Odessa is not some provincial town of the Russian Empire. That Odessa is not a part of Russian culture but has its own culture and sense of humor.” He further added that the statue will be “a clear signal that Ukraine supports the LGBT community.”
The petition insists that the statue will be a major tourist attraction due to the actor’s internet popularity before hinting at the tongue-in-cheek nature of the petition by concluding as the fifth reason “memes.”
Originally built in 1900, the statue commemorates her founding of the city in 1794 on land conquered from the Ottoman Empire. Despite her popularity among Russians, her policy of Russification and centralization makes her a controversial figure among Ukrainians, according to Contested Histories. The statue has been the subject of bitter dispute in recent years, with several petitions and activist groups demanding its removal.
The petition made its way to Russian state TV, where it was mocked by the presenters. One of the panelists connected the nature of the pornographic “gachimuchi” films Billy Herrington was known for with Ukraine in general, saying in between the laughs of his other panelists, “The idea of these movies is that some muscular boys meet and begin fighting, and it ends the same way as porn movies. In Ukraine, it’s all like that.”
“Ukraine is being turned into a gachimuchi country!” he decried.
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Gay marriage is currently illegal in Ukraine, and Ukrainians have an overwhelmingly negative view of the LGBT community, according to the BBC, with just 12% of Ukrainians holding a positive view of it. When held, Pride marches come under frequent assault from far-right groups. Despite this, another petition to legalize gay marriage has just surpassed 25,000 signatures as well.
Odesa is the last major coastal city held by Ukraine and has come under occasional bombardment from Russian forces.
