Regional authorities have reached an agreement with the Rostov Diocese on the return of the puppet theatre building, сообщает edition City N with reference to the Deputy Minister of Property and Land Relations Rostov region Alexander Chekmenev. In exchange, the church will receive two buildings near the cathedral, which are currently in its free use.

The transfer of the puppet theater building to the church initially sparked protests from the city's cultural community. The diocese cited the theater building's location as a former Greek church. However, the church had previously secured a development site adjacent to the theater, and a local businessman Ivan Savvidi built a temple on this site “as a gift to Rostov-on-Don from the Greek diaspora and the I.I. Savvidi Charitable Foundation.”

Publishing House "Peasant" In May 2014, he began collecting signatures from Rostov residents for a petition protesting the theater's eviction. Several thousand signatures were submitted to the governor, but to no avail, and in January 2020, the theater building was handed over to the diocese.

As a "gesture of goodwill," representatives of the diocese promised not to evict the children's theater until a space could be found for it, and performances continued until recently—with the gracious permission of the new owner.

Earlier, the story of Rostov city activists caused outrage Wrangel's house — a cultural heritage site, which the church received as a gift with the condition that it be restored. Over the course of six years, the building fell into disrepair, after which the diocese sold it and used the proceeds to restore the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Photo from the Rostov Puppet Theater website