Mahiliou: a block of houses deprived of the status of historical and cultural value

The houses No. 3, 5, 13 and 15 in Lazarenka Street are no longer protected by the state. The decision to deprive them of the status of historical and cultural value was taken on 27 November by the Belarusian Republican Scientific-methodological Council on Historical and Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus.

The head of the department of ideological work, culture and youth affairs of the Mahiliou City Executive Committee Ala Halushka reported at a sitting that in the near future the list of historical and cultural objects in Mahiliou would be corrected and their number would be reduced.

At the momvent, there are 55 such buildings, and 102 objects that do not have such status, but are part of the complex historical and cultural values.

The authorities note that not all of these buildings are in satisfactory condition, and it is impossible to recover some of them, as they are in the state of emergency. It is possible to save these objects of historical and cultural heritage only by selling them to investors. However, not all of them are willing to maintain the buildings in their primary state – many of the potential owners are interested in the internal remodeling of buildings. Nevertheless, the city authorities note that preservation of the original facades is a condition for selling the buildings.

Regarding the fate of the four houses on Lazarenka Street, it's worth noting that houses No. 13 and 15 will be combined into a single architectural complex. House No. 5 will be rebuilt into a multifunctional administrative and commercial center with cultural and business purposes, and the house No. 7 will be put up for auction in the first quarter of 2014.

The chairman of the Board of the Mahiliou Regional Branch of the public association "Belarusian Voluntary Society for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture" Uladzimir Krauchanka said that the authorities continued systematic destruction of historical heritage, which began in the Soviet Union.

"The inadequate policy in the sphere of the conservation of historical and cultural heritage is ruining our material culture. If the destruction of historical buildings continues in Mahiliou in the same tempo, soon nothing will be left of Mahiliou, it will be come a city of sockets and hypermarkets. No matter how we try to react to the authorities' actions to destroy historic buildings, they remain deaf and blind to our complaints," said Mr. Krauchanka.

It should be noted that the old houses on Lazarenka Street were built in the early twentieth century. A few years ago it was announced that part of the street on which these buildings were built will be returned its historical name, Vilenskaya, but it still hasn't been done.