Community defends Sophia
A court ruled out the construction of a high-rise building in the reserve’s buffer zone
The scandalous construction at 17-23 Honchar Street, next to the National Sanctuary “Sophia of Kyiv,” is to be stopped, says a ruling of the Shevchenkivsky raion court, Kyiv. We will remind our readers that for more than a year the local community has been fighting to keep the reserve’s buffer zone intact, and not let it be disfigured by modern buildings. The rules of UNESCO, whose list of protected monuments includes the Sophia Kyivska complex, rules out any construction in the buffer zone. However, this did not stop a developer from starting the construction of an elite residential complex Fresco Sofia right in the buffer zone.
The Day already wrote that UNESCO officials had demanded more than once that the construction in Honchar Str. be stopped. Precisely for that reason, the national shrine, together with the Pochaiv Lavra, could have been put on the so-called UNESCO black list, or even be excluded from the list of world heritage sites. This would have been a tough blow to the cultural and historical image of our country.
So far, the problem is over. Activists from the civic group named Zberezhy Stary Kyiv (Save Old Kyiv), related that on Monday, November 22, the 18-month long trial of a case brought by the developer (Group for Investment and Construction) against the residents of Honchar Street, ended with a complete victory of the local residents.
“In August, 2009, the developer brought an action against the local residents for a third time, demanding that the court recognize his right to build and make the activists from Honchar Street pay 560,000 hryvnias in damages for hindering construction works,” said the communique of Zberezhy Stary Kyiv. “During the trial, the developer tried to prove that Iryna Nykyforova and Yevhenia Bielorusets, participants of the peaceful protest actions, played a direct role in the pulling down of the two-meter-high ferroconcrete fence, through operating a crane. In order to prove that it was Nykyforova who sat at the wheel, the representative of the developer ordered a phototechnical expert examination, which failed to prove the claim. During the trial, the judge declined the developer’s petition to hold another expert examination. The court promptly began debating, and then passed its just verdict.”
The significance of the victory of a community over a developer goes beyong saving the national shrine. It is a wonderful example of civic society action in Ukraine. It can defend its own interests and those of state, albeit not always efficiently. However, this instant proves that Ukrainians are not indifferent to the fate of historical monuments, they care about preserving history. At the same time, this precedent gives us hope that from now on, similar incidents will be solved in favor of communities.
Yet there is a vast field for work for civic activists. “Hot spots” like the one on Honchar Street are innumerable. According to the Ministry of Regional Development and Building, over the past couple of years nearly 30 land sites were allocated for construction in the buffer zone of Sophia Kyivska alone. The licenses were given by the municipality of Kyiv, without consulting the Verkhovna Rada, which is a violation of the Land Code of Ukraine. However, money and power alone should not decide everything. There must be, after all, some responsibility before the community and state.
It looks like such times have not come yet. Recently a new threat to the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin, a unique monument from the 11th century, has emerged. The Cabinet of Ministers issued an order by which, “to conduct archeological research and preserve the remains of the foundations of the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin,” more than 13 million hryvnias are allocated from the budget. The “preserving” for some obscure reason implies the construction of a foundation of a church which will belong to the Moscow Patriarchate. And it has been done before the start of the new year. Given the long history of archeological excavations on the premises of the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin, and the huge amount of work to be done, a month will not be enough for archeologists to complete the mission, no matter how much money they are allotted. And when the foundations of the church are built, further excavations will be impossible.
Civic organizations protecting Kyiv’s historical monuments are ready to stand up for the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin and take to the streets in protest actions. We can only hope that the example on Honchar Street will become a rule rather than an exception.
