In the center of Kiev, the scandal around the next historic building again flashes. It is about the former baths of Mikhail Bubnov's merchant on Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street, built in 1822. Today, the owners of this real estate are trying to deprive it of its security status through the court to open the road for construction.
The building belongs to LLC "Corporate Solutions of LTD"-a company that is associated with the business group of the fraternity brothers and former Minister of Energy Ivan Plachkov. These names are not new in scandals around Kiev land and buildings. The fraction group has already "lit up" in the efforts of the Rusana Strait. Plachkov is a politician with extensive experience and broad connections.
LTD's corporate decisions are trying to revoke the KSCA's decisions, which the building has received the status of a cultural heritage object. The arguments are traditional: "the building has lost authenticity", "the rights of the owner were violated", "they wanted to reconstruct the business center".
The first court of businessmen lost: the Kyiv District Administrative Court entered the side of the city authorities and the prosecutor's office. But the company is already preparing an appeal. And public activists warn that the battle for the ancient baths is just beginning.
The building is located in the central historic area of Kiev is an extremely valuable territory. Moreover, it falls under the protection of several protected areas: archeological, historical and architectural.
But instead of preserving the monument, the owners see only a business project: several hundred square meters in the heart of the capital-the perfect plot for the construction of the apartment or office center.
Suspicious moments
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In 2023, builders partially dismantled the roof of an old building without proper approvals.
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Police opened criminal proceedings on the fact of self -government and the destruction of the object of cultural heritage. But a few months later, the investigation was actually "gone" - neither suspicion nor real consequences.
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In parallel, the company's lawyers began to challenge the security status of the building in court.
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In the claims, the owners of the building insist that at the time of purchase it did not have the status of a monument. Although the logic is simple: you buy an object in the center of historical Kiev - be ready for restrictions.
It is worth recalling that in 2023 the KSCA gave the building a security status because of its architectural and cultural value: it is one of the few structures of late classicism in Kiev, which has survived to this day.
The destruction of this structure will allow to build a plot on the waterfront-Khreschatytska at least seven-storey apart-hotel. With the current market price of real estate in the center of Kiev is a project for tens of millions of dollars. That is why the fight will be fierce.
In addition, a business group that stands for "corporate decisions" has long-standing relations in political circles and experience in "resolving issues". Therefore, activists and lawyers are afraid: without public pressure, the case can be "bursting" at the stage of appeal or cassation.
Public publicity is the only real obstacle to the construction of historical Kiev. On May 20, the next court hearing should take place in the case of a security contract for the building. And also the second attempt of businessmen continues to challenge the security status.
The history of Bubnov's bath is another test for whether Ukrainian society is able to protect its city from transforming it into a faceless commercial enclave.
