As Maryland ends ‘Sister State’ partnership with St. Petersburg, Baltimore rekindles ties with Ukraine’s Odesa

Maryland has terminated its largely symbolic “Sister State” relationship with the region that includes the Russian city of St. Petersburg due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Gov. Larry Hogan sent a letter to Aleksandr Drozdenko, the governor of Leningrad Oblast, on Monday that cited “the duty of every government to remain vigilant of unlawful acts against public order, democratic principles and innocent civilians.”

Maryland’s relationship with Leningrad Oblast dates to 1993, a time of thawing relations and new investment in Russia by the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union. The state retains the Soviet-era name for the country’s second-largest city.

Baltimore, meanwhile, is rekindling older ties to the Ukrainian city of Odesa, the Black Sea port located 50 miles by water from Russian-occupied Crimea. The Baltimore-Odesa Sister City Committee was established in 1974, Mayor Brandon Scott said Friday in a news release.

Ukrainians began settling in Baltimore during the 1880s, Scott said, especially in Highlandtown, Fells Point and Patterson Park. During the early 1900s, many worked for the city’s steel- and glassmakers. Others followed shortly in part to escape World Wars I and II.

“The City of Baltimore stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine at home and abroad and we join leaders across the world in condemning Russia’s military actions against Ukraine,” Scott said. “Ukrainians have been a part of our city for generations. Today, many worry for the loved ones they may still have in Ukraine.”

If Gov. Hogan hadn’t acted to break ties with the St. Petersburg region, Senate President Bill Ferguson said Monday morning that he planned to introduce a resolution calling for Hogan to pull out of the partnership.

“Diplomacy and soft power are vital, and relations should be resumed when Russian aggression ceases,” Ferguson wrote on Twitter. “Until then, we must send a clear message that we stand with Ukraine.”