Khrushchevs of St. Petersburg are saved from the Vorobyovs by “freezing”

The governor of the Northern capital, Alexander Beglov, proposed to temporarily “freeze” the provisions of the city law on the integrated development of territories (CRT). The document envisaged the forced resettlement of the inhabitants of the Khrushchev houses, given for demolition, and the development of these quarters with new housing. However, major players in the construction market, such as Samolet andSPb Renovation“Obviously not happy with these decisions.

People’s prayers

The draft law on the KRT was developed by Smolny at the end of the spring session of the Legislative Assembly, the deputies adopted it with minimal amendments. But already in August, the city court accepted for consideration a lawsuit filed by a group of citizens against the government of St. Petersburg and Governor Alexander Beglov with a demand to invalidate the law on the integrated development of territories.

Residents were frightened by the project, because the resettlement program affects quarters with houses from 1957-1970, and during this period 2356 Khrushchev houses were erected in the city, 650 thousand people live in them, whom the draft law allows to relocate, including to the distant outskirts and suburbs of St. Petersburg . Moreover, the provisions of the law make it possible to demolish historical buildings and destroy squares and green spaces.

“Business Petersburg” counted in the city at least nine territories built up with Khrushchevs, which could be of interest to developers. According to the publication, their renovation could bring about 2.5 trillion rubles in revenue

The scandals began back in July, when several hundred residents of the Lanskoye municipal district, living in the quarters of the Soviet period of construction near the Chernaya Rechka metro station, staged a spontaneous popular gathering. Note that there are huge blocks of the same “Khrushchev” in Nevsky, and in Moscow, and in a number of other districts, so the indignation of the townspeople is quite understandable.

In addition, if earlier Petersburgers fought only for Soviet architecture, now buildings built before 1917 can also be demolished. This is another proposal to change the law of St. Petersburg “On the boundaries of the united zones for the protection of cultural heritage objects …”

“Airplane” takeoff

While some are dissatisfied with the project, others, on the contrary, are looking forward to it. The main, as yet not officially named, player in the field of renovation of St. Petersburg Khrushchev and low-rise areas close to the center will be the Samolet group of companies. The main shareholder of the company, billionaire Maxim Vorobyov, is the brother of the governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov, and is actively building up the region, which is headed by his closest relative.

It is also necessary to add here that since 2009, the official investor in the implementation of renovation in St. Petersburg is “SPb Renovation”. Last year, the company was taken over by the Samolet group of companies. The deal amounted to 10 billion rubles, so the main beneficiary there is the same Maxim Vorobyov.

The company “Spb Renovation” has already managed to be noted in the scandal. They wanted to demolish two three-story historic buildings in the Narva Zastava area. Then the residents also staged pickets.

So the bill is clearly beneficial to the Vorobyov brothers, with the help of the “Airplane” they can build up everything that is being demolished as part of the project, while seemingly not even violating anything. However, Beglov intervened.

Lieutenant Governor’s Shadow

The story is remarkable in that the interests of Moscow billionaires are lobbied by the vice-governor of St. Petersburg, Nikolai Linchenko. An official in the city is entrusted with curating both the Committee for the Protection of Monuments and the building block. There is a clear conflict of interest here: for Mr. Linchenko, development has come to the fore, eclipsing the preservation of historical buildings and cultural sites.

A photo: gov.spb.ru

In the city government, Linchenko has a reputation as a construction lobbyist. He learned to be a skillful and tenacious official from his father Viktor Linchenko, who was a deputy of the Petrosoviet and part-time head of the department of the property relations committee of St. Petersburg. Under his patronage, the privatization process was in full swing, the new owners of enterprises were people with a profession characteristic of the 90s.

Linchenko, Jr., during the reign of Valentina Matvienko in St. Petersburg and until 2009, worked as the chief of staff of the construction vice-governor Alexander Vakhmistrov. Then he became the first deputy head of the Primorsky District Administration. From February 2011 to October 2012 he worked as the head of the Admiralteisky district.

Later, an amazing castling took place, under the patronage of Matvienko, Linchenko went to the post of deputy director of the Department of Industry and Infrastructure of the federal government. And after Beglov received the post, Linchenko returned to St. Petersburg and was appointed vice-governor. They say that he was “imposed” on Beglov. In all likelihood, he is lobbying for the bill, which was met with hostility by the townspeople.

Beware of freezing

It turns out that Linchenko and the profile committees subordinate to him ensure the easing of hail protection legislation and the introduction of the Samolet Group of Companies and the SPb Renovation, which is already officially owned by it, backed by the Vorobyov brothers, behind which, most likely, Valentina Matvienko stands.

Now the bill can be suspended until January 1, 2024. This means that officials lobbying for resettlement are deprived of a profitable piece of the “pie”.

At the same time, it should be noted that Alexander Beglov will remain outside this scheme, moreover, he made concessions to the townspeople. It is possible that such actions will be followed by an information attack on the governor.