The historical heritage of Alexander Nevsky to be destroyed in Moscow in the year of his 800th anniversary

It's worth reminding that 2021, by the decree of President Vladimir Putin, announced as the 800th anniversary of the knyaz (prince - editor's note).

Arkhnadzor activists found work on the demolition of the historic building on March 1. According to them, the work is being carried out without permits. By the morning of March 2, the courtyard extension was completely destroyed, the left wing of the main building was partially demolished, in which the school house church of St. Alexander Nevsky was located. On March 4, dozens of Arkhnadzor activists tried to block the exit of the second excavator, hoping to slow down the demolition. However, the first excavator continued to break it from the yard. The police were called to the scene.

On the evening of March 4, police officers detained five guest workers and assured that the work was stopped by order of the Department of Internal Affairs. By this time, the volume of the church was partially preserved from the house. However, with the onset of darkness, according to Arkhnadzor, the demolition continued. By the end of the day, the building was demolished down to the first floor.

“The volume that once housed the temple in the east wing no longer exists. Those who set themselves the goal of destroying the historic building fulfilled their task, taking advantage of the fact that the city authorities were in no hurry to help the defenders of the building", - said Konstantin Mikhailov, a member of the coordination council of Arkhnadzor, in a conversation with Novye Izvestia.

By the way, Arkhnadzor informed the Association of Administrative and Technical Inspections of Moscow and the City Department of Cultural Heritage about what was happening, but did not receive any help from them. In addition to the fact that, presumably, the contractor did not have permits for demolition, there was not even an information board near the place of work. This is a violation of the order of construction work and demolition work established in Moscow. According to Mikhailov, bricks of plaster flew to the sidewalk during the demolition, threatening the safety of people.

The building of the school of Prince Peter of Oldenrubgsky does not have the status of a monument of history and culture, but is located on the territory of the united protected zone of cultural heritage objects. Also, the building is located in close proximity to the famous monuments of Moscow classicism - the Slobodsky Palace and the Phanagoria barracks. The Church of St. Alexander Nevsky was consecrated in 1882. Its head is visible in pre-revolutionary photographs on the left side of the facade along Brigadirsky Lane. In Soviet times, when the Military Academy of Chemical Defense was located in the building, the murals of the former church were knocked down, but the walls of the church premises were preserved.

“The loss of the building is alarming, since it created a historically authentic environment, a necessary urban planning background. Now there is a threat of new development on this site. The projects that we see seem to have flown in from the moon - they absolutely do not take into account either the historical context of the area or the neighborhood of monuments - such a jumble of high-tech objects", - Mikhailov emphasized.

According to Arkhnadzor, the building is being demolished for the development project of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. A Biomedical Center and a Center for Transport and Biological Systems should appear there. “The Moscow government and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, apparently, believe that the surviving quarters and areas of the historical buildings of the German settlement have not been sufficiently disfigured by demolitions and new construction in the twentieth century. For example, a stone's throw from the Fanagoria barracks”, - the activists say.

“The big trouble is that, unfortunately, all this becomes known when the demolition has already begun. All decisions - about demolition, building, development - are made somewhere behind closed doors, unknown to us people without discussion with local historians, historians, representatives of public organizations, residents of the area, ”says Mikhailov.

A member of Arkhnadzor recalled that during the mayorship of Yuri Luzhkov, an expert advisory council worked under the chief architect. According to him, sometimes the council created the appearance of work, and sometimes it really unfolded a real discussion around important issues. “In today's Moscow there is nothing to discuss important architectural projects. The council that I mentioned has long been gone, the work of the Moscow government's commission on urban planning in the zones of protection of cultural heritage sites was terminated, the public council created after the presidential instruction at the cultural heritage department does not actually function - the last time it met in mid-2019. That is, the execution of the presidential order is simply sabotaged in Moscow. We rolled back in the 70s, when our town-planning projects and decisions were classified”, - Mikhailov explained.

The social activist noted that it is extremely difficult for activists to stop the demolition when an excavator arrives at the site, and city authorities, which could point out violations and stop work, do not. “And when the object is destroyed, you can just throw up your hands and say that nothing can be done about it. It looks very wild for 2021, when the question of what color to paint the door handles is put to the vote on the portal "Active Citizen". And such large projects with the demolition of historic houses are secretly discussed and agreed somewhere, "Mikhailov added.

Alexei Pichugin , the great-grandson of the merchant Ivan Filimonov , who was the school's trustee and the church administrator of Alexander Nevsky, called what was happening “a family tragedy”. “ The family also keeps an ancient icon, which on August 30, 1898 was presented to my great-great-grandfather, most likely, here, right in the building of the school. […] It is surprising that today the building of the Prince of Oldenburg's school is not being demolished by the city authorities, but by another educational institution with centuries-old traditions. But, for the current leadership of the Moscow State Technical University. Bauman, the history of the region is already alien, ” Pichugin noted.

Get a prompt comment from MSTU im. Bauman did not work. The required specialists did not answer the phone. "NI" sent a request to the university. Another request was sent to the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning. The press service of the Moscow Cultural Heritage Department did not provide a comment on the situation, citing the fact that the school building is not an object of cultural heritage.

We add that netizens reacted negatively to the situation with the demolition of the school building, in which the house church of Nevsky was located:

“It’s terrible that they are being demolished, it’s scary that Baumanka is participating in this”, - writes Irina N.

“There is no explanation for this. Literally a few meters away there is an ugly purple building from the 70s. Why not to demolish it and build whatever your heart desires in its place?”, - librettotalvez does not understand.

“What a bright future do you want to build by demolishing history?!”, - asks moskovskymuravey.

“Thank you [Arkhnadzor] for the protection! Shame on the leadership of the university!”- added master_disaster.

"They cut it alive, break it, destroy it, no shame, no conscience, no historical memory, only dollars in the eyes...", - noted ekulikova.broker.

“The 'gift' for the 800th anniversary of the holy knyaz Alexander Nevsky in the form of the demolition of the temple dedicated to him looks blasphemous”, - Arkhnadzor members believe.