russia Is Destroying Historic Heritage for the Benefit of Developers

      russia continues to destroy historic monuments on a large scale for the sake of commercial and residential development. Last year, officials pushed through a series of legislative acts that allow construction virtually anywhere. The new “Regulations on the protection of cultural heritage sites” effectively eliminates territorial protection for most historic sites, including the historic center of suzdal and mamayev kurgan. Ancient settlements, kremlins, monuments and necropolises, thousands of World War II memorials and mass graves are now left without the right to veto developers.

         Despite the russian authorities’ declarations about the priorities of preserving historic heritage, in reality, the ministry of culture is reducing protection zones. For example, the protection zone of the arkhangelskoye museum-estate (the “Versailles” near moscow) has been reduced by 300 hectares, while the protection zones of ancient radonezh have been abolished. The “borodino field” is already surrounded by high-rise buildings, while historic landscapes are being turned into square meters of real estate.

         In parallel, starting September 1 this year, russian schools will introduce a new subject, “Spiritual and moral culture of russia”, which aims to shape students’ worldviews based on traditional values, culture, history, and religion. Real historic objects are being turned into illustrations for textbooks, while living heritage is being destroyed for real estate development.