Build a cultural monument, destroying part of the history of Kyiv. What is happening with the Schultz brewery on Demeevka

In the central part of Kyiv, on the territory of the Schultz brewery, they plan to build a cultural and spiritual center. Activists claim the destruction of a historical monument, writes EP

At the end of the twentieth century, the last bottles of Goloseevsky light and Demeevsky dark were poured at the Kiev Brewery No. 1. After working somehow for another four years, the plant finally closed.

The history of brewing on the banks of the Lybid River in the capital has 200 years. The plant reached its greatest prosperity in the 1860-1890s, when a Prussian citizen, Johann-Heinrich Schultz, built a large brewery.

In Soviet times, the brewery on Stalinka, as Demeevka was then called, was one of the largest in Kyiv. In 2000, the enterprise was bought out by the Sarmat company, which belonged to the SCM group of Rinat Akhmetov.

Unable to restart the production of beer at the plant, “Sarmat” transferred the property complex to another division of SCM – “Esta Holding”. The latter is engaged in construction and property management and planned to build housing on the site.

The idea of ​​housing construction was also not realized. All this time, the premises of the plant were rented out and fell into disrepair.

In 2018, Akhmetov decided to donate the property complex of the brewery to the charitable foundation “National Welfare Fund of Crimea” for the construction of a mosque and a Crimean Tatar cultural center.

In 2021, the public organization “Renovation Map” announced the partial dismantling of one of the factory’s historic buildings. And in 2023, activists recorded the complete demolition of another building.

Monuments say that the dismantling work is taking place without permits. In addition, the buildings of the Schultz brewery are located in the Central Historical Area of ​​Kyiv and are subject to consideration for inclusion in the List of Monuments.

The current owners of the land claim that the dismantling work did not start, and two buildings were forced to be dismantled due to an emergency state and a threat to others.

Schultz Brewery. Tatar gift

After the Russian annexation of Crimea, many indigenous people of the peninsula, including Crimean Tatars, were persecuted and forced to leave for the territory controlled by Ukraine.

The number of the Crimean Tatar society in Kiev grew, so at some point the idea arose to build a cultural and spiritual center, a mosque, a school and a museum in the capital, says Lenur Mambetov, director of the international charitable foundation Crimean National Welfare Fund.

In search of a site for construction, representatives of the fund came across the territory of the Kyiv Brewery No. 1, which is located on Goloseevsky Prospekt, 8. Negotiations began with the owners on the purchase of real estate.

At the final stage of negotiations, a direct meeting was held between the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, and the ultimate beneficial owner of the company that owns the plant, Rinat Akhmetov. As a result of the agreements, Akhmetov decided to transfer the site to the Crimean Tatars for free.

“Akhmetov is also a Muslim. Muslims have a tradition after the death of relatives to do something that would symbolize the memory of the dead. For these reasons, Akhmetov decided to donate a plot”, Mambetov says.

The director of the foundation explains that, although Akhmetov is not a Crimean, but a Kazan Tatar, all followers of Islam, regardless of origin, will be able to pray in the future mosque.

In 2018, an act of donation of the property complex took place. Oktyabrsky 40 Complex LLC, which owned buildings and a three-hectare land plot, changed ownership and was registered as an assistant to the People’s Deputy Dzhemilev Rustem Umerova.

In 2019, Umerov was elected a people’s deputy from the Golos party, and in September 2022 he headed State Property Fund. So LLC Complex Oktyabrsky 40 was rewritten to another assistant of Dzhemilev, Refat Umerov, Rustem’s cousin.

Representatives of the “National Welfare Fund of Crimea” handed over to the EP documents indicating that the property and the site of the former brewery were immediately transferred to the balance of the charitable foundation.

The founder of the Crimean National Welfare Fund is the Astem Foundation charitable foundation. One of its co-founders is Rustem Umerov, and the current co-owner is Refat Umerov.

Mambetov says that the property was formally registered with Umerov’s structures as Dzhemilev’s assistant. The technical donation procedure cannot be considered a direct relationship between Umerov and Akhmetov, he adds.

“There are no collusions or agreements here. In 2018, Umerov was a businessman. Akhmetov could not have known 5 years ago that Umerov would become the head of the State Property Fund,” says Mambetov.

He convinces that the owners of the former brewery do not have the goal of profiting from the asset. The only ultimate goal is the development of the Crimean Tatar culture.

“The Crimean Tatars have unwritten moral laws that would not allow us to cheat and make a profit from this site, even if we wanted to. We were offered to sell this site, they came with generous offers, we refuse everything. For us, the construction of a cultural center is a matter of the survival of our people”, explains Mambetov.

Erdogan pays

Crimean Tatars have close cultural ties with Turkey. Representatives of the Crimean Tatar society always take part in state trips and negotiations with the Republic of Turkey.

In recent years, one of the topics of negotiations is Turkey’s participation in financing the construction of housing for the Crimean Tatars in the controlled territory of Ukraine and a mosque in Kyiv.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave tentative consent to the allocation of funds, but the issue has not yet been finally resolved.

“A few years ago there was a conversation with the Turks that they would take part in financing when there was a specific project. No contracts were signed“, – says Mambetov.

According to him, now the issue of building a cultural center is not relevant – the fund is engaged in helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fight against the Russian Federation. The development of the project for the construction of the mosque did not start. And the maintenance of the territory of the brewery is due to proceeds from the lease of the surviving buildings on its territory and the contributions of patrons.

Will the Crimean Tatars look for other sources of funding if Türkiye refuses? Mambetov hopes that the neighboring country will not refuse the promise.

“This project is a charity, so we hope for support. We will have an open territory and free access for everyone, except for the school premises. At the same time, difficult times are now in Turkey – the earthquake, the elections. Let’s act according to the situation“, says the director of the fund.

Demolish the old to build the new

In 2021, one of the historical residential buildings on the territory of the Schulz brewery began to be demolished. The dismantling could be seen by all passers-by from the side of the Demeevsky market, since the facade of the building overlooks the frisky and crowded Luzhevsky lane.

As a result, the facade was significantly damaged and the internal structures of the building were completely dismantled. Memo guard and lawyer Dmitry Perov says the work was carried out without permits. There is no information stand and protective fence.

Also, during 2021, the brickwork of one of the production buildings was dismantled on the territory of the plant, which was not visible from the street.

“They worked on several objects at the same time. Moreover, when information about the dismantling work became public, lawyers for the charitable foundation wrote a statement to the police for submitting allegedly false information.“, says Perov.

In 2023, the owners of the site completely destroyed the body of the drying tower, and the tower itself began to be dismantled. Back in 2022, the buildings were intact, notes local historian Anton Korob.

Representatives of the NGO “Mapa Renovation” say that the “National Welfare Fund of Crimea” violated the State building codes and rules for the improvement of Kiev, did not have urban planning conditions and restrictions and the coordination of construction work from the Ministry of Culture. In addition, the purpose of the land plot “For the operation and maintenance of existing buildings” does not provide for dismantling and construction work.

“The brewery is located in the central historical area of ​​Kyiv, which imposes additional restrictions on the design of new buildings here, in particular, restrictions on the demolition of existing historical buildings. The buildings of the brewery are candidates for inclusion in the State Register of Immovable Monuments, which the owner knew about. Permits for the execution of works at the address of the brewery were not provided, approvals of project documentation were not registered“, – adds Perov.

Mambetov explains that the owners of the property complex did not start any dismantling work either in 2021 or 2023. They were forced to dismantle two buildings because of their disrepair and danger to others.

“A tree sprouted inside the building, facing Luzhevsky Lane, and the structures began to collapse, including on the MAFs standing along the sidewalk.

We had to dismantle another building due to the fault of the owner of the neighboring plot. During the demolition of the building on their territory, they damaged the roof of our building, everything fell down and we dismantled it”, says the director of the fund.

He says that all the buildings on the territory of the brewery are in disrepair. “We made an expert inspection of the buildings, according to the conclusions, there are cracks in the foundations up to 10 centimeters, they are not subject to reconstruction. Some buildings have a destruction level of 80% and cannot be entered‘ he says.

Mambetov repeats that the owners do not carry out dismantling work and do not start construction, since the project has not been developed. At the same time, he recalls that buildings do not have the status of historical or cultural monuments.

“We do not dismantle. If they wanted to, they would have already demolished everything. There is a procedure for obtaining permits. When we reach the design stage, we will check and act in accordance with the law. When we get permission, we will do the dismantling. Now we have other priorities, we do not have the time and energy to engage in construction“, – adds Mambetov.

Korob notes that a similar facility in Podil, namely the Richert brewery, has a protected status and will be preserved during the construction of a residential complex. “In the case of the Schultz brewery, there is a defect in the cultural heritage protection authorities,” the local historian believes.

Perov says that in 2021 the Kyiv City State Administration created a list of valuable historical developments that are in danger of destruction or damage and are subject to additional protection. Schultz’s brewery also got there. A moratorium was introduced for a year on any actions with objects. During this time, employees of the relevant department were to conduct an audit.

“However, over the course of the year, the commission of the department was unable to collect information, since officials were not physically allowed to enter the territory of the Kyiv Brewery No. 1 to inspect, photograph and describe existing facilities.“, – says Perov.

The EP has an analytical note addressed to the Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration Vladimir Prokopiv, which states that specialists from the Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage during 2021-2023 “repeatedly conducted visual inspections of the building complex, but access directly to the territory is limited by a fence.

At the same time, the specialists of the Department recorded that the buildings are in poor condition and there are signs of destruction.

Mambetov believes that “the city should develop,” so it is wrong to automatically grant protection status to every old building that is located in the historical area of ​​Kyiv, whose diameter is 7 km.

“We are ready to discuss with government officials and with the public whether these buildings have historical or cultural value. For each individual building. Ready to leave something or do something to remind you that Schulz’s brewery was here“, says the director of the fund.

He believes that there is nothing historical and valuable in the buildings on the territory of the Kyiv Brewery No. 1.

“I believe that much more valuable historical sights have been demolished in Kyiv in recent years, in which there was no protected status. For example, on the construction site of the Riverdale housing complex next to us, there were two monuments, one of them has already been demolished, the other has been partially“, says Mambetov.

Schultz Brewery. “You cannot create a new cultural object by destroying the existing historical memory”

Perov wrote open letter to the President of Turkey with a request to keep the Schultz brewery complex and choose another place for the construction of an Islamic cultural center. The letter was signed by 17 public organizations.

“We propose to hold open public hearings with the involvement of the expert community, representatives of the Islamic religious community in Ukraine… we propose to jointly choose the best place for the Islamic Cultural Center that satisfies the citizens, the religious community and government officials… Transparency and openness of the discussion in resolving this important issue for both of our states will be able to secure the project from material and reputational risks…“, the letter says.

The head of the Crimean Tatar Foundation, Mambetov, says they are open to a constructive dialogue with the public and public discussions of the project.

“We will show the project, we will participate in public discussions and explain that there will be a square and a public place on this territory, we will talk about all the points about the possible noise from the azan, and so on.‘ he says.

Representatives of the Crimean Tatar people are ready to discuss the issues of land exchange, but the location will be an important factor.

“We will not agree to the exchange of a plot on conditional Poznyaki. We want to make a complex in which life will seethe. We do not make a commercial object, but a public one. We will consider such potential land plots that are in a convenient location“, – said Mambetov.

Perov replies that he is positive about the idea of ​​creating a cultural center. At the same time, one cannot create something new by displacing the memory of the past.

“It is better to create something new from pure writing, and not instead of the existing history and culture of the city. Perhaps it was worthwhile to start a dialogue about the location of the center earlier. At a minimum, do not start this story with a negative and do not allow the situation to three criminal proceedings“, – speaks. Perov.

Currently, the prosecutor’s office is investigating criminal proceedings for libel by activists and the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage sites and construction work without permits from a charitable foundation.

translation Skeleton.Info

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