(Dis-)Connected. Railway, Steamships and Trade in the Port of Odessa 1865-1888

After the end of the Crimean War, politicians, engineers, and economists alike debated the future of the port of Odessa. Two particular issues that relate to the rising age of steam emerged: Odessa was forced to adapt its port infrastructures to bulky steamships and the city questioned its place in the developing railway network of Imperial Russia. This contribution argues that by balancing economic and military (geostrategic) demands, ministry officials and engineers laid the foundation both for Odessa's success in the 1860s and 1870s and its failures in the 1880s and 1890s.