The Ukrainian capital, founded over 1,500 years ago, is on the verge of losing its valuable historical heritage due to ruthless development and destruction of historic buildings. The problem has become especially urgent in light of recent decisions by the Ministry of Culture, which supposedly promote the development of the city, but in reality lead to the destruction of its cultural face.
A scandal erupted in the capital over the weekend. The Zelenskys' estate was demolished. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has already managed to call what happened a "cynical provocation" and noted that the relevant department of the Kyiv City State Administration had sent documents to the Ministry of Culture a few days earlier to protect the building and grant it the status of a monument:
"Activists come to the city hall building. They say, 'Klitschko demolished the monument.' But why don't the outraged demonstrators go and ask questions to the parliament, which for over 5 years has not passed the bill submitted by the city so that the capital would have leverage over unscrupulous owners of old buildings? Why don't they turn to the government, from which the city has been demanding for so many years to return the Sikorsky House, which is on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Defense, to the community? The same Cabinet of Ministers blocked the transfer of Gostinny Dvor to the community, which the city, together with activists, returned from private ownership to state ownership. And the monument also stands without reconstruction and is crumbling.".
The response from Acting Minister of Culture Rostislav Karandeyev was not long in coming . He called these false accusations and blamed the capital's authorities for everything, which are not working properly in this area.
Meanwhile, yesterday, July 22, the Advisory Council of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the Kyiv City State Administration for the third time (!) did not support the inclusion of the Zelensky Manor, 1890, in the List of Monuments of Kyiv. This was reported by activist Dmytro Perov.
For the first time, the accounting documentation was submitted by the NGO Mapa Renovatsii in December 2022. The second time, a revised package of documents was considered in April 2024. The third time, the new accounting from the NGO Spadshchyna was considered, on July 22, 2024. Already after the building was vilely demolished by the developers of the “Turgenevs” and after the statements of Klitschko and representatives of the Department.
The actions – or rather the inaction – of the Department directly led to the destruction of the historical monument last Friday. And the refusal to grant it status excludes the legal mechanism for the obligation to restore it under the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Cultural Heritage”. And despite the allegedly signed memorandum with the developer about restoration, most likely there will be no restoration of the building.
“ The scheme is as follows: the developer signs a memorandum with the city on restoration. The media writes about this. Klitschko is a hero of Ukraine. But if the estate is not a monument, there are no legal grounds for its restoration. This memorandum will simply not be implemented by anyone ,” said activist Dmytro Perov.
It seems that Karandeev did beat Klitschko, because today, July 23, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine recognized the Zelensky Manor, 1890, as an architectural monument and obliged the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the Kyiv City State Administration, which yesterday did not support granting the historical building the status of a monument (in the opinion of council member Bohdan Kodushka, it has no historical, architectural, or cultural value) to include it in the List of Monuments of Kyiv.
According to Article 21 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Cultural Heritage”, now the owner will be obliged to restore the building to its original form. Otherwise, it will be returned to the state or municipal property of the city.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officers have declared suspicion against the owner of the building, on whose instructions the Zelensky estate in Kyiv was demolished — a historic building from the late 19th century. Currently, investigators have declared suspicion against the owner of the building under Part 1 of Article 388 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — intentional damage and destruction of property, which has been seized by the court. The sanction of the article provides for a fine of from 17,000 to 68,000 hryvnias or corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or restriction of liberty for the same term, with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years.
