A wrought-iron fence suddenly disappeared near the building of the Moscow State University Scientific Library in the center of Moscow.

Urban defenders are concerned about the disappearance of forged sections of the fence around the building of the Moscow State University Scientific Library on Mokhovaya Street in Moscow.

“On Friday, December 14, employees and readers, having left the building, left it in its usual historical form. On Monday, December 17, the forged fence in the form of elegant, almost modern curls was not in place. Scraps of metal stuck out forlornly from the brick pillars,” - indicated in the materials of the public movement "Arkhnadzor".

According to city defenders, a tender was previously announced for work to restore the decorative fencing of the scientific library of Lomonosov Moscow State University, and it did not mention the historical and artistic value of the fence.

“There are no references to the planning and restoration task, which should be issued by the Moscow City Heritage for work on the preservation of cultural heritage sites, no requirements for the contractor to have a special restoration license, no mention of acceptance of the work by a representative of the monument protection authorities,” the message notes.

At the same time, according to the All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activities, Products and Services (OKDP), work is classified as finishing, not restoration.

As city defenders point out, the contractor who won the tender, a small construction company SK Palmira LLC, does not have a license to operate in the restoration of cultural heritage sites.

The materials of "Arkhnadzor" add that the list of works that must be performed within the framework of the terms of reference and estimate includes the dismantling of metal sections of the fence (13 sections with a total length of 126.8 meters, without specifying the method of dismantling), their cleaning to white metal, restoration with adding new metal up to 25%, installation in place, priming and painting in color as agreed with the customer.

“The technical specifications do not provide for repairs or even painting of fence posts,” the message notes.

The library building itself has the status of a monument of regional significance, but the fence is not included in the register of the Moscow City Heritage.

The scientific (Fundamental) library of Moscow State University, built according to the design of architecture professor Konstantin Bykovsky, opened to readers on September 1, 1901. The university used endowment capital of 121.75 thousand rubles in interest-bearing securities for its construction, consisting of donations. Including 25 thousand rubles bequeathed to this good cause by the Decembrist Matvey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol.

Let us recall that in October, 200 meters of the ancient fence of the Vagankovskoye cemetery disappeared in a similar way. Authorities later stated that the destroyed part of the fence was not historical.