The Kyiv District Administrative Court has refused to restore the historical status of the building at 20/21 Sofiivska Street, known as the “Independence House.” This decision effectively paves the way for the destruction of one of the symbols of Ukrainian statehood in the center of the capital.
Judge Ihor Lyska rejected the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office, which demanded to recognize the Ministry of Culture's decision to deprive the building of its monument status as illegal. Thus, the court confirmed the validity of the Ministry of Culture's decision, which defined the historical building as "non-historical."
Monument keeper Dmytro Perov reported that now the "Independence House" can be demolished. The developer plans to build an office center in its place. This is not the first case of such a decision: previously, historical buildings at 20 Mykhailivska and 50/23 Velyka Vasylkivska lost their monument status.
The house at 20/21 Sofiivska Street has great symbolic significance. According to legend, it was from its balcony on January 22, 1918 that Mykhailo Hrushevsky solemnly proclaimed the IV Universal of the Central Rada, a document that legally established the independence of the Ukrainian People's Republic. At the same time, Ukrainians were called upon to fight against the Bolshevik occupation.
At various times, this building housed the famous Kyiv hotel "Davnya Rus", and the building itself has preserved its architectural features from the early 20th century. Now it may suffer the fate of dozens of historical sites that are gradually disappearing under the pressure of modern development in the center of the capital.
