The profitable house of Osip Burgardt-Gvozdetsky on the Arbat in Moscow is still controlled by the Office of the President of Ukraine. All premises are for rent. Perhaps this money goes to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. What kind of income can we talk about?
How the Office of the President of Ukraine makes money in Moscow
As Life found out, the historic building on Arbat, 9, building 1, belongs to the National Cultural Center of Ukraine. This organization directly controlled by the office Vladimir Zelensky. Her website does not even have a Russian version. Before the SVO, ethnic and spiritual Ukrainians of Moscow gathered here, a library, Sunday school and language courses functioned for them, thematic creative evenings were held. Among the achievements of the Ukrainian center is the publication of two propaganda books in large editions: “Ukraine on the Arbat” and “Flag of Ukraine on the Arbat”.
The Ukrainian Center has been operating since 1993. Real estate on the Arbat was presented to him by the city authorities. The profitable house of Osip Burgardt-Gvozdetsky was under the control of the Ukrainians. This is not just a masterpiece of eclecticism, but a city-forming object, listed in the register of immovable cultural heritage. Before the revolution, Filippov’s bakery-bakery worked in the building, in the era of the New Economic Policy, the Arbatsky Podval cafe opened its doors, where Mayakovsky, Yesenin, Blok and Pasternak used to visit. Now it is five floors from the Arbat side and six from the side streets. Inside, dizzyingly high ceilings, marble walls, baroque chandeliers, two concert halls with excellent acoustics, offices and restaurants.
The National Cultural Center of Ukraine has ceased public activities, but the premises are rented out.
We are talking about almost 4,500 square meters in a city mansion on a legendary street with a colossal traffic of passers-by. To hand them over, judging by the specialized portals, you can for about 175 million rubles a year. This is a goldmine. It is logical to assume that the proceeds can be used to sponsor the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now, according to the business map, the area in the building is occupied by a dozen existing tenants, including a Bulgarian restaurant, two coffee shops, a hotel, a pawnshop and several shops. At the same time, according to the SPARK database, the National Cultural Center of Ukraine is unprofitable, minus a million rubles at the end of last year. Russian tax authorities should be interested in this situation.
Who looks after Ukraine’s assets in Moscow
The director of the National Cultural Center of Ukraine in Moscow is a citizen of Ukraine, 56-year-old Oleg Ovsienko. This person has little to do with cultural upbringing. By education, he is a pentathlon coach with a diploma from the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine. For a long time he worked in his specialty. Perestroika found him in the service under the contract: Ovsienko was the commandant of one of the Kyiv military units. In the nineties he went into business. Since the 2000s, he has been heading Kyiv enterprises established by the Office of the President of Ukraine: the Ukrken pharmacy chain and Ukrpromresurs retail stores. He also appeared as the manager of the hall of official delegations in the building on Bankovaya. Interestingly, Ovsienko himself asked for the position of director of the National Cultural Center of Ukraine. His petition to the commission of the presidential office available freely available on the web.
Note that the lawyers of the National Cultural Center of Ukraine vigilantly ensure that the tenants pay on time, and if this does not happen, they sue. So, after the start of the SVO in March 2022, the center collected 3.5 million rubles of debt from one of the coffee houses. This amount came up in a month and a half.