Paul I and the Oranges

After Catherine the Great's death in 1796, her son, Paul I took over the Russian empire.  He had never been fond of his mother, and it was his express intent to undo or let decay all she had accomplished-- including her territory on the Black sea.  Especially her pet project of Odessa.  After purging his administration of at least eighteen-thousand civil servants (thirty-thousand, if the men who left voluntarily are included), he cut off funding for the Black Sea project, and the money De Ribas needed for the construction of the city beyond its foundations never arrived.

The only solution would be to prove Odessa was an important and vital port for the Tsar.  However, Paul I was petty and stubborn, and if he had ignored the fact that the port was closer to any other port in western europe than Moscow, he would ignore it again.  De Ribas ordered an unorthodox gift of three thousand Turkish oranges to the Tsar, hoping it would sway him.

In the end, three thousand was just as much as the Tsar needed to change his mind.  Odessa began to get money again, and building continued, even flourished.

Erected in 2004, this statue of Paul I inside an open orange commemorates the event.

It adds to some of the more bizarre monuments in the city.

King, Charles. Odessa: Genius And Death In A City Of Dreams. New York: W.W.
     Norton & Company, Inc., 2011. N. pag. Amazon Kindle. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. 
Photo and additional information from: 

Ukraine Online Travel Guide. "Orange Monument in Odessa." UA-Traveling. N.p., 

     n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.