Blame It on the Maidans: Utility Services Explain Replacing Historic Lamps in Mariinsky Park

Many millions of hryvnias were allocated for restoration, but instead of restoration, replacement was carried out.

In Kyiv, a scandal has erupted over the replacement of historic lamps with standard ones.

Cast-iron lamps dating from the 1950s were removed from Mariinsky Park. The utility company Kyivhorsvet, according to Prozorro, spent 18 million hryvnias, although according to the terms it was supposed to replace sodium and mercury lamps with LED ones through “capital repairs and restoration.”

Kyivhorsvet responded to the accusation with a lengthy post, which, among other things, states that the 2004 and 2013-14 revolutions negatively affected the outdoor lighting power grids.

“It should be noted that in 2004, numerous tents of supporters and opponents of the Orange Revolution were located in Mariinsky Park, which affected the sanitary and technical condition of both the park as a whole and the outdoor lighting power grids. In late 2013 and early 2014, opponents of Euromaidan were located in Mariinsky Park, who carried out active aggressive actions against participants of the Revolution of Dignity. As a result of mass riots, significant material damage was caused, amounting to a total of 664,994.40 hryvnias.”

Historic lamps were removed not only from Mariinsky Park — the same was done in the Fomin Botanical Garden.

People’s Deputy Heo Leros of the Servant of the People party sent an inquiry to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, initiating the creation of a working group that would check the procurement of objects for Mariinsky Park.

Another Verkhovna Rada deputy from Servant of the People, Roman Hryshchuk, reported today that the dismantled historic lamps from Mariinsky Park had been found in a Kyivhorsvet warehouse. He stressed that he was surprised by the utility company’s statement about a lack of funds for restoration, when those very funds had been allocated for restoration.

“Yes, restoration or a replica will cost more than standard lamps. But this is our city. With every cast-iron lamp and historic building that is overlooked and saved money on, Kyiv loses its atmosphere and appeal.

It surprises me that Kyivhorsvet complains about a lack of technology or its exorbitant cost. This is at a time when, for example, an 11-meter monument to Ilya Muromets was made using molds printed on a 3D printer. Right now I can name at least two restorers who are not indifferent to the lamp topic. All blueprints of historic lamps exist.

“It is amazing when people who have seen London and Paris do not understand that a city consists of small historic details,” — Hryshchuk wrote on Facebook.

However, Hryshchuk said that Kyivhorsvet director Volodymyr Krutsenko assured him the company is open to proposals, and that he promised not to decide on replacing the lamps without agreement with Kyivans on Holosiivskyi Avenue.