Moratorium Not Working: Ministry of Culture Reports Another Historic Building in Kyiv Under Threat

As with the Barban estate, builders are driving equipment in for the night.

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has reported another historic building in Kyiv that is under threat. We explain what moratorium the Kyiv City Council previously introduced and what led to it. 

Moratorium 

On September 2, 2021, the Kyiv City Council introduced a moratorium on the reconstruction and major repair of 119 cultural heritage sites of the capital dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, and the list may still be expanded. 

Volodymyr Bondarenko
Secretary of the Kyiv City Council

The city authorities made a decision important for the city, since it is essential to protect historic buildings in Kyiv that may be threatened with destruction or damage. Within three months, the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Kyiv City State Administration must approve this list and supplement it as necessary. 

According to him, the capital's authorities will insist on including these and other sites in the state register of immovable monuments of Ukraine. The list of buildings itself has not been published on the city council's website. 

Bondarenko called on Kyiv residents to submit their proposals to the city council and take part in discussing these issues. He noted that the moratorium will remain in effect until these sites are fully studied and their historical and cultural value is determined. 

Work on such sites will be possible only after public discussion and in the procedure determined by the Kyiv City Council. 

Which buildings have already been damaged

In April 2021, the historic Utkin tenement house was demolished in Kyiv, and the developer ZIM Group intends to build the Times apartment complex on the site of the historic landmark.

In July, demolition began on the modernist building "Flowers of Ukraine" on Sichovykh Striltsiv Street, which caused widespread outrage among residents of the capital. The developer and one of the building's owners had stated that they would gather a group of architects for consultations over several weeks and only then begin work. But demolition started earlier. 

Ultimately, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court placed the building under arrest, and then the court banned the dismantling of "Flowers of Ukraine" due to violation of the architect's non-property copyrights. 

The "Flowers of Ukraine" building received the status of cultural heritage of Kyiv. The building is subject to protection under the law "On Protection of Cultural Heritage".

In August, a single-story building from the late 19th century, the "Barban mansion," was demolished in Kyiv. Activists on duty at the site said the Ministry of Culture had banned construction on the site of the estate and issued an order. Later it became known that the developer was aware of this order. 

Reports appeared on social media that thugs attacked the defenders of the house. After this, police began detaining local residents who were protesting the development. 

On the morning of August 20, construction equipment destroyed the "Barban mansion." Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko expressed outrage at the cynical demolition of the estate in the center of the capital. The National Security and Defense Council decided to restore the destroyed part of the estate and conduct an audit of all architectural monuments on the territory of Ukraine. 

New threat to a historic building

The Ministry of Culture reported that builders drove equipment into the courtyard of the house at 22 Turgenievska Street (the Malin house), which is located in the historic area of the capital. 

"Attention! Another danger to historic Kyiv! Right now builders have driven equipment into the courtyard of the house at 22 Turgenievska Street (the Malin house). This house does not have monument status, but it is located in the historic area and is an important element of the appearance of the entire block. As with the Barban estate, builders are driving equipment in for the night," the ministry said. 

The Ministry of Culture stated that the adopted moratorium on the repair and reconstruction of 19th and 20th century buildings cannot be an effective mechanism for countering the barbaric development of the capital. The city authorities call for approving a historical and architectural reference plan.