Makarov "put" on KGIOP

Petersburg city defenders defended another historical building in the city center from the "long hands" of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments (KGIOP). We are talking about the cancellation by the court of the decision of the Committee, which removed Saltykova's mansion on Bolshaya Morskaya Street from state protection.

This decision was signed by the permanent head of the Committee, Sergei Makarov, who has been under investigation since September last year on suspicion of abuse of office. Rumors have been circulating around him for a long time, allegedly decisions on the protection or removal from the protection of certain historical buildings are made exclusively from the point of view of the business interests of entrepreneurs revolving around these sites.

Despite this, Sergei Makarov was not dismissed from his post, and risks getting dry out of the water altogether. Apparently, in Smolny under the governor Alexander Beglov, such things are considered normal.

Details - in the material The Sankt-Petersburg Post.

The decision on Saltykova's mansion was made back in 2016. As a result, all yard buildings were taken out of state protection for their further demolition. Dismantling work began in 2022, which caused a real scandal among the defenders of the architectural appearance of the city. As a result, the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, became interested in the situation - apparently, this alone saved the historical appearance of Saltykova's mansion from destruction.

The building itself was previously somehow owned by Severnaya Land Company LLC. It started the reconstruction of the mansion and adjacent territories, and the Mandarin Production and Commercial Company took up the dismantling of the existing buildings.

As a result, several criminal cases were initiated at once. First, regarding the illegality of dismantling work - in relation to Severnaya Land Company LLC itself. The second is in relation to Mandarin employees. Writes about this Kommersant.

The latter, apparently, did not like the activity of city defenders. Therefore, according to the investigation, they beat Oleg Mukhin (one of the activists and initiators of the lawsuit in court), and then forced him to write a receipt about the absence of claims. It is unlikely that they would have decided on this without counting on the "roof" in Smolny.

The situation looks absolutely wild and resembles the 90s. It seems that the preservation of the architectural and historical glare of the city in the KGIOP under Sergei Makarov is thought of last. And didn't he bother the Mandarin employees to "reason" with the noisy activist?

The analysis of Saltykova's house (pictured - the dismantling of the internal buildings) took place at all times until the Investigative Committee intervened in the situation. Photo: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: St. Petersburg,_Bolshaya_Morskaya_51,_dismantling_courtyards_outbuildings_from above_ (1) .jpg

Those who believe that the KGIOP is not such a corruption-intensive committee as others are mistaken. The approach here is very simple: recognizing the status of a historical monument for a particular building, you can annoy some developers a lot, and appease others. And on the reconstruction of one or another mansion - to earn hundreds of millions and billions from the budget.

It is hard to believe that it was the "Northern Land Company" that might have been the ultimate beneficiary of this scandalous story. A company with this name from St. Petersburg has not a single employee in the staff and a minus value of assets. At the same time, until the fall of 2022, the company belonged to two Cypriot offshore companies Yuroektiv Limited and Transgate Limited. But behind this almost "dummy," it seems that people are very influential.

Photo: Rusprofile.ru

Earlier, The Moscow Post found out that both offshore companies were associated with Alexei Moneylnikov, the former head of the Agency for the Development of the Property Complex of St. Petersburg. The current owner Viktor Tyryshkin has his own construction facilities, and probably thought that after the decision of the KGIOP "it's about the hat." But it wasn't there.

Tyryshkin is the owner of the VIT Corporation developer near Moscow, where Mr. Moneysnikov also previously worked. In addition, he also has the company "SMK," which previously received contracts from the St. Petersburg KIO.

Viktor Tyryshkin is associated with the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov. They interacted back in the mid-2000s, when Beglov was the presidential envoy to the Central Federal District. In 2016, the media wrote that strong friendly relations were established between Beglov and Tyryshkin, which could play a role after Beglov was elected governor of St. Petersburg. As you can see, Tyryshkin feels great on the construction market of the Northern capital.

Destroying St. Petersburg

Sergei Makarov has been the head of the KGIOP since 2014, for almost 10 years. During this time, so many scandals have happened in the city over the protection of historical and architectural monuments that any self-respecting official would have resigned long ago. Because he didn't cope. But, apparently, this is too profitable for Makarov.

Even the criminal case initiated against him in 2022 under the article on abuse of office, which entailed grave consequences, did not prompt to write his own statement. We are talking about the demolition of the building of the Life Guards of the Finland Regiment. According to the investigating authorities, the official ignored signs of the value of the building as a historical monument and allowed it to be destroyed. For this he faces up to ten years in prison, writes Kommersant.

Of course, something new must appear on the site of the demolished architectural monument. Apparently, the likely investor of the future construction could sponsor the "ignore" on the part of the head of the Committee. But it is also surprising that this situation has not yet become a reason for the removal of Makarov already by the hands of Governor Alexander Beglov. Could he be interested, too?

For Sergei Makarov, even the criminal case did not become a reason for resignation. Photo: Rusprofile.ru

Critics of Makarov have repeatedly reminded - in 2014, for the first time, not an art critic, not an architect, but a lawyer who never had anything to do with the protection of monuments was appointed to the post of head of the KGIOP.

According to the authors of the Living City community on the VKontakte social network, Makarov allegedly prefers to use his legal skills not so much against developers and negligent owners who ruin houses as against city defenders. As if God forbid the extra building will become a monument - the KGIOP will do everything possible so that this does not happen. After all, then its demolition or reconstruction will become problematic for developers.

For the "covid" 2020 alone, Sergei Makarov had a whole series of similar "achievements." In that year, the Peterburgsky sports complex was demolished, which the KGIOP refused to recognize as a monument because it was allegedly not 40 years old (city defenders claimed to be fulfilled). The result - the building was destroyed, a person died during the demolition.

And now, on the site of the former CCM, a new arena is being built on a concession with the city authorities. The project itself is associated with the business interests of the oligarch Gennady Timchenko. And SKA-Arena LLC, which belongs to Sports Technologies and Investments JSC, is directly involved in the work. The last until 2021 (i.e. when work has already begun) was owned by Igor Zabiran.

Photo: Rusprofile.ru

Previously, Zabiran worked in the capital construction block of PJSC Lenenergo, and also served as an adviser to the then acting governor Alexander Beglov. What an amazing coincidence that he was close to the city authorities!

You can remember other "cases." For example, with the Palace of Medicine (the building of the medical unit of the Kalinin plant). In January 2020, Sergei Makarov made a scandal, refusing to even discuss a new custom examination for the demolition of the building, immediately approving it. Thus, the owner of the land plot (confectionery holding Prosto Petro Group) received the right to demolish the building and implement the development project conceived there. Writes about this Expert Online.

Another case is the Basevich House, which they decided to demolish "quietly." The KGIOP supported the demolition, the city defenders learned about it too late, and unknown citizen Kuklin, who filed a lawsuit against the department's decision, according to evil tongues, could allegedly be a dummy plaintiff in order to immediately "fill up" the trial and "close the issue."

The fate of Basevich's apartment building under Sergei Makarov was also unenviable. Photo: https://www.novostroy.su/news/live_here/gradozashchita-vykhodit-na-barrikady-diplomatii-gorozhane-provedut-obshchestvennoe-obsuzhdenie-proekta-snosa-doma-basevicha-iz-za-apartamentov-eyfmana/

There are still a lot of such examples when the KGIOP under Sergei Makarov could absolutely not care about any architectural and historical value of the buildings allegedly protected by him. But Makarov looks absolutely unsinkable! And it began with the very arrival of his post.

According to the author of the darwa blog on the Live Journal platform, allegedly the first noticeable action of Makarov as head of the Committee was unprecedented pressure on the expert group of General Zykov's house at 145b Fontanka. Allegedly, the pressure was applied in order to reduce the subject of protection destructive for the building, and something could remind racketeering.

As if Makarov with a snide grin suggested that experts leave only the facade from the house and even blackmailed the refusals to include the object in the register of monuments. As a result, the subject of protection of the building was significantly reduced - so much for you "concern" for historical heritage.

It is difficult to suspect concern in the situation with part of the Stable Department, which KGIOP for some reason could not save from alteration into a hotel. The same thing happened to the building of the Obukhov hospital, which was eventually demolished. The same is the pre-revolutionary industrial building on Chapaev Street, the pre-revolutionary courtyard outbuilding on Sinopskaya Embankment, Shagin House, built in the 18th century. Dozens and dozens of cases.

Barsukov-Kumarin method

Apparently, these sites also found their grateful interested parties from the business environment. "Versiya" even writes that Sergei Makarov uses the methods of the former "night governor" of St. Petersburg, now convicted bandit Vladimir Kumarin. And how can you not remember the city defender Sergei Mukhin beaten near the house of Saltykova?

We are talking about how earlier the "brothers" from the 90s, who were associated with Kumarin, tried to "squeeze out" trade union property. And they remembered this as a result of the situation with the student sports base of the trade unions subordinate to the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University.

The Committee for the Protection of Monuments (KGIOP), headed by Makarov, by very dubious manipulation designed a wooden hut belonging to trade unions built in 1917 "a monument of Russian wooden architecture of 1877-1879." This was done retroactively, after the destruction of the barrack.

The essence of this "movement" is also clear - the university could not do anything with the barrack, neither restore nor reconstruct. The building could only be sold for a penny to some developer, after which the "encumbrance" would surely have been removed. But the same trade unions, led by the head of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia Mikhail Shmakov, "bit," and this plan (if it was) had to be postponed somewhat.

Sergey Makarov against the background of the next "saved" historical building of St. Petersburg. Photo: KGIOP

So in the case of Saltykova's house, the likely plans of businessman Tyryshkin and his possible patron in Smolny for this object will have to be postponed somewhat - after the reaction of the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin.

In the case of Sergei Makarov, one thing is clear - it does not seem that he really cares about the preservation of the cultural and historical heritage of St. Petersburg. It is difficult to say when this vicious practice will end, but clearly not under Makarov at the head of the KGIOP.