A French Man in Ukraine
Cardinal Richelieu statue in Place Richelieu, Amboise
Among the photographs recording the horrific bombing of Odessa* is one of piled up sandbags protecting a statue.
It turns out, rather surprisingly, at least to the author, the statue commemorates the duke of Richelieu, called, affectionately in Odessa, as ‘our duke’.
Is there a connection between Odessa’s duke of Richelieu and ‘our’ Cardinal Richelieu in Amboise?
Yes. Odessa’s duke was the Cardinal’s great-nephew (his sister’s grandson). He inherited the Cardinal’s title. Conferred on the Cardinal in 1629, Louis XIII elevated his Prime Minister to the Peerage as the first duke of Richelieu.
No-one seems to know why the Cardinal’s statue is in Amboise. His only connection with the town seems to be that he incarcerated the Minister of Finance, the marquis de la Vieuville** in the Royal Château which was then used as a prison.
As for Odessa’s duke. Why was he there?
He was in hiding from Madame Guillotine. A loyal friend of the ill-fated Queen Marie-Antoinette, a decree demanded his death. The duke settled in Saint Petersburg.
In 1803, the Tsar appointed him Governor of Odessa.
Why is his statue revered?
In the eleven years of super efficient administration, Odessa’s duke transformed the sparsely populated village of Odessa into a fine city. He drew up the plans and oversaw the construction of Odessa’s famous Port, ‘The Pearl of the Black Sea’.
In 1815, when the monarchy was restored, the duke returned to France.
In 1828, Odessa commissioned the fine bronze statue to commemorate ‘our duke’ to grace the top of the steps leading down to his Port. Why he depicted in a Roman toga is anyone’s guess.
In 1869 Mark Twain in his travelogue Innocents Abroad wrote: ‘I mention this statue and this stairway because ...Richelieu founded Odessa – watched over it with paternal care ...and a wise understanding for its best interests – he spent his fortune freely to the same end – endowed it with a sound prosperity, one which will yet make it one of the great cities of the Old World.’
In 1905, a workers' uprising in Odessa was supported by the pro-Revolutionary mutinous crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin and Lenin’s propaganda newspaper Iskra***.
The 1926 silent film The Battleship Potemkin has a fictitious scene where hundreds of workers were slaughtered on the great stone staircase after which it became known as The Potemkin Steps.
The Grand Old Duke of Richelieu followed in his great uncle’s footsteps. He, like the Cardinal, became the Prime Minister of France.
* In April and October 2022, during the invasion of Ukraine, Russians bombarded Odessa. Three months later (January 2023) UNESCO added Odessa to its World Heritage List which means it can apply for technical and financial assistance.
** The marquis de la Vieuville was the trusted advisor to Louis XIII until Cardinal Richelieu, determined to get rid of his rival for the king's ear, turned Louis against him by repeating damning rumours about la Vieuville and his corrupt family. Vieuville was put in prison 3 August.1624.
*** Pamela tells the story of Iskra in Essential Islington: From Boadicea to Blair
Post by Pamela (BA History of Art).
Essential Islington:
From Boadicea to Blair
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