Demolished, burned, and crumbled: Historically valuable buildings are rapidly disappearing in the regions.
This week, several urban planning scandals have erupted in Russian cities, involving the disappearance of historically valuable sites—either neglected or deliberately demolished.
🔹An administrative building in the 19th-century Königsberg roller mill complex demolished in KaliningradThe mill was recognized as a cultural heritage site, but the administrative building was not, so the demolition cannot be deemed illegal. The complex belongs to the Kaliningrad Flour Mill (Russian Bread company). According to According to a company representative, the building was in disrepair and posed a threat to the lives of employees. According to According to the preservationists, this is a lie, since the expert assessment was commissioned by the owner himself. They demolished the building. have been named barbarism and a huge loss to the city's cultural heritage;
🔹Rops' house partially burned down In Petersburg. It is a one of wooden cultural heritage sites built in the early 1900s. During Soviet times, the building located The building was converted into a trade union yacht club, and was mothballed for the 1980 Olympics. A renovation project was completed in 2022, but it was never completed. After the incident, police arrested the alleged arsonist—an intoxicated man. However, local residents suspectthat the house was set on fire because there had been plans for construction on this site for a long time;
🔹In Ryazan the wall and roof of a wooden house with a turret partially collapsed at 40 Shchedrin StreetThis is one of the surviving examples of wooden architecture from the late 19th century and a cultural heritage site. It housed the Diocesan School for Girls, then was converted into communal apartments. The building had been in disrepair for decades, and renovations were promised by 2027.
🔹Moscow court allowed to demolish The Elektrozavod building. Its demolition has begun Back in late June, but preservationists actively opposed it. It's a monument to industrial architecture with lancet windows and arches from the early 20th century. The building was not recognized as a cultural heritage site, which accelerated its destruction.
Moscow government liquidated list of identified cultural heritage sites - total 1322 objectsThey can be demolished without breaking the law.
Photo: "Country Kaliningrad", "Paper", TASS
