Vanishing cities

There are probably few adults who do not have fond memories of their childhood, the home in which they grew up, and the schools they attended. Kyiv-Pechersk Gymnasium No. 84, located at 34 Moskovska Street, in the heart of Kyiv’s historic center, was the first high school attended by such noted cultural figures and artists as Alla Tarasova, People’s Artist of the USSR, the celebrated actor Miliza Korjus (profiled in Den on March 21, 2007), and a number of other distinguished individuals.

The former gymnasium was an architectural monument from the early part of the 20th century, a key part of our city’s historical and cultural heritage. The only thing that is left of the structure is the fenced-off site and the memories of the school’s former students and teachers.

Mykola Stryzhevsky, who was a student at the gymnasium, told The Day about the history of the founding of the school and its activities. His ancestors settled in Kyiv in 1918 on Suvorov Street, nearby the high school, so Stryzhevsky lived all his life practically next door to the gymnasium. He first enrolled in the Boys’ School No. 75 located in Ivanov Lane (provulok Ivanova). Fortunately, this institution has survived the ravages of time and is still functioning.

In 1954, the pupils from School No. 74 were transferred to the former private Girls’ Gymnasium No. 84 located at 34 Moskovska Street. This institution was founded by a woman named Pletniova, a noted educator. In addition to the Kyiv-Pechersk Gymnasium, she supervised several other schools. It is not known when the school was built, but it was already functioning in 1915.

“The look of Moskovska Street changed over time,” said Strazhevsky, who teaches history. “The gymnasium building had heritage value because until its last days it looked exactly the way it did before the revolution, despite the numbers of students who passed through its doors, and the uses to which it was put under the Soviets. I think this school was superbly built expressly for the educational process: it had high ceilings, big windows, and brightly lit classrooms. The building also had a canteen and rooms for hobby groups.”

In 1974 a memorial plaque was hung above the central entrance to the gymnasium. It was a bas-relief of the artist Alla Tarasova, an alumna of the school. That same year the Tarasova Museum was founded by Oleg Yefremov, a popular Soviet film and theater actor, and the chief director of the Moscow Art Theater.

One of the students at the Kyiv-Pechersk Gymnasium was the half-Swedish and half-Polish actress Miliza Korjus, who starred in the wonderful film The Great Waltz (1938). She was also a talented singer, who performed with the Dumka Choir directed by her professor, the distinguished conductor Nestor Horodovenko.

Eventually, the gymnasium was converted into an evening school, and later, a place where various training courses were held.

Stryzhevsky learned about the Aug. 22 demolition of the gymnasium from his former classmates. He arrived at the building just as its walls were being torn down.

“We don’t know who wanted to destroy this heritage building just to get hold of that piece of land,” he said, “because such information is always kept secret and will be revealed only after some time. But it’s obvious that this bourgeois era will not leave in its wake any small buildings, even if they are architectural monuments. In time not only Pechersk but other historic districts of the capital city will be packed with high-rise glass and concrete structures. Kyiv is turning into a run-of-the-mill city, no different from many others; it is losing its individuality and historical aura. This city, once regarded as the most beautiful one in the Russian empire, to which many superb masters dedicated countless creations, paintings, and other examples of creativity, is vanishing. In order to stop this barbarous process, people who realize that historic Kyiv is threatened with extinction must show some strength, intellect, and sense.”

As Stryzhevsky and I were walking down Moskovska Street, I was beginning to see it in a new and unusual light, a street filled with the events and people of past eras. Early in 1850 the Russian tsar signed an edict ordering the construction of a fortress there, because Kyiv had a strategic importance from the outset. Underground passages were built underneath the fortress. Its construction took 20 years, but in the end it was not needed. The building was then used as a penitentiary. Another reason for this designation was that the fortress was located near Lysa Hora, the traditional place of execution. Fragments of the wall surrounding the fortress can still be found near the Kyivan Cave Monastery.

As we approached the site of the former gymnasium, we saw that it was fenced off and closely watched by security guards. We were forbidden access, and they even photographed us, making it clear that the best thing for us would be to make ourselves scarce.

Stryzhevsky told me sadly: “They’re selling out this city, which was founded thousands of years ago. I guess these events are situational. People who have made their way upstairs and have money, and who are even prepared to admit their lack of knowledge, dismantle a heritage building. No one cares about what this structure used to be and how such actions will affect the city and its residents. A couple of people give the orders and dozens are doing the demolition. In any society, educated and cultured people constitute a minority. They are confronted by a brutal and destructive force that openly and cynically asks, ‘Who needs this?’ That is what is most horrifying to contemplate,” he said.

The gymnasium was torn down in record time, in under a week, starting on Aug. 22, probably because someone wanted the job done before Aug. 24, so that he could celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day with a clear conscience.

Legalized vandalism

In Lviv, the house once owned by the outstanding composer Yaroslav Yaroslavenko has been demolished on a street named after him.

Despite protests and demands to stop the demolition, the Yaroslavenko building, located at 30 Yaroslavenko Street, in a scenic corner of Lviv, was demolished with the approval of the Lviv City Council. According to Oleh Matsekh, the coordinator of the Lviv Civic Forum (HFL), the building was previously owned by the Yaroslavenkos and two other families. In January 2008 it was bought by a local businessman named Rostyslav Melnyk. The first thing he did was to remove the memorial plaque; then he ordered the whole structure to be demolished. According to HFL spokesman Yurii Voloshchak, the new owner said he didn’t know the building was a heritage site, and by way of compensation he is ready to erect a bust of the composer.

City Hall insists that he is lying because he was told that this was a heritage building. “This building was placed on a list of the city’s heritage sites in keeping with a decision passed by the Lviv Regional Executive Committee on Feb. 11, 1982, no. 506, Section 1297,” said Lilia Onyshchenko, head of the Department for the Conservation of Heritage Sites. The department sent a letter to the owner on June 8, 2008, warning him that this is a heritage site, and that he had to sign an agreement to protect this monument.

“Despite this, the building was completely dismantled within one day. This is the first such case in the entire history of preserving the city’s heritage sites. A page has been erased from the history of Lviv and its culture. What makes this situation so tragic is that this is an irreparable loss. This building was part of the history of our country. Perhaps in another country taking possession of such a heritage site would be a matter pride and respect, but never barbarism.”

The activists of the Lviv Civic Forum suspect that the new owner wants to use the site to put up an apartment building. “According to our information, this man is the son of Leonid Melnyk, former deputy head of the Lviv Regional State Administration, who was in charge of the fuel and energy complex, and the son-in-law of Mykola Odukha, advisor to the mayor of Lviv. We also have information indicating that they run a construction firm and will start a commercial construction project on the site of the demolished building. Here 100 square meters of land cost between 50,000 and 100,000 dollars. The land in question measures 1,200 sq.m.,” Matsekh said.

Contrary to Onyshchenko’s statement, the Lviv Civic Forum insists that City Hall was involved in the destruction of this architectural monument. On Sept. 2, the executive committee of the Lviv City Council passed Resolution no. 921 “On Citizen R. L. Melnyk’s Design for a High-rise Apartment Building, Including Office Premises and Parking Lots, at 30 Ya. Yaroslavenko Street, following the Demolition of the Building.” The resolution was signed by Mayor Andrii Sadovyi.

The Lviv civic activists underline that they will do their utmost to ensure that this is the last time a cynical act of destroying Lviv’s cultural heritage goes unpunished. They will be monitoring the criminal investigation into this case and demanding that the prosecutor’s office take appropriate measures against the owner for destroying a heritage site.

As for the building where Yaroslavenko once lived, Voloshchak believes that it must be restored. Furthermore, a one-room museum dedicated to the noted composer must be founded. This blatant violation of the law protecting heritage sites has been duly recorded by the Department for the Conservation of Heritage Sites, and documents have already been submitted to the Lviv prosecutor’s office.