Scandal: in Kyiv, an architectural monument of the 19th century - the house of the writer Kuprin - is being illegally demolished
In Kyiv, on Mikhailovskaya Street, 10, the late XNUMXth century residential building of the architect Nikolai Kazansky, where the writer Alexander Kuprin lived, is being demolished.
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This was reported by Kyiv City Council deputy Elena Tereshchenko-Eskina.
“SOS! To the attention of Kiev residents and the media. Another criminal barbarity in the very heart of the city: they are demolishing a monument - the house of the famous architect N. Kazansky, in which the writer Alexander Kuprin lived at 10 Mikhailovskaya Street, destroying historical Kyiv!” – she wrote on her Facebook page.
According to the deputy, the illegal demolition began under cover of darkness. The old house is already missing two floors. The building began to be demolished on November 16, floor by floor. As of November 18, the third floor of the building was demolished.
Despite this, residents of the surrounding houses did not remain indifferent and went out into the street. The deputy thanked them for sending the photos.
“Tell me, has the Ministry of Culture already removed this house from the register, or will they say tomorrow that it fell on its own?” – she asked.
Later it turned out that the house, built in an eclectic style, allegedly does not have official status as a cultural heritage site.
“And this is not surprising, because 90% of cultural heritage sites, which in Soviet times were cultural monuments, in independent Ukraine, due to the irresponsibility of the relevant authorities, no longer have this status,” the social activist was indignant.
But the decision of officials did not make such objects less valuable to history, she believes.
“The historical significance of the house is enormous: it housed the editorial offices of the first Ukrainian publications published in January 1906 - the magazine “Nova Hromada” and the newspaper “Hromadska Dumka”, the world famous writer Alexander Kuprin (“Garnet Bracelet”, “Olesya” lived in this house "- added the deputy.
The house was deliberately brought to a state of disrepair and was not restored, and now the city may finally lose it, the social activist believes.
“They plan to build an administrative building of unknown number of floors on the site of the monument. I sent a request to the relevant authorities and a statement about the crime to law enforcement agencies,” wrote Tereshchenko-Eskina.
A responsible owner of the building should have restored it in accordance with the original design, with the restoration of lost elements, and not demolished it with the further construction of another office, she believes.
The deputy supplemented her post with photographs and videos showing the demolition of the second and third floors, carried out on November 17-18, 2016.