"Tsarskoye Selo" for the president

As a landowner Petro Poroshenko nearly destroyed the fortress in the center of Kyiv

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko could use his influence in order to “hush up” the case of acquiring a plot of land in the historical district of Kyiv - for the construction of a private mansion - and violations during this construction. The Ukrainian edition of Radio Freedom led to such conclusions led to her investigation.

In two reports that took the air in the television program "Schemes" of the Ukrainian edition of Radio Liberty, it was said that for seven years Poroshenko acquired a land plot with an area of more hectare in the guarded Pechersky district of Kyiv. Not so long ago, the president was able to prevent the investigation of the damage caused during the construction of a nearby architectural facility of the 18th century on this site.

Poroshenko was not able to reduce the influence of the oligarchs on Ukrainian politics

These data became the property of publicity at the moment when an increasingly loud criticism is heard addressed to Petro Poroshenko. The president is accused, on the one hand, that he remains the owner of a large business empire, and on the other, that he was not able to reduce the influence of the largest oligarch entrepreneurs on Ukrainian politics. One of these oligarchs, Dmitry Firtash, who recently appeared before the Austrian court, said last week that he was the “director” of the take -off of Poroshenko to the top of the authorities.

Supporters of Poroshenko, one of the richest people in Ukraine (his fortune is estimated at $ 750 million), call him "president of deoligarchization." However, the fact that the president did not fulfill the pre -election promise to sell his assets , as well as the new facts about his property, cause more and more questions about whether Poroshenko really seeks to separate Ukrainian policy from large businesses.

Good address

Radialnaya street is very small, but is located in one of the most beautiful places in Kyiv. This is a pleasant green quarter, known as the Tsarskoye Selo. It is part of the Pechersky district located on the western bank of the Dnieper. Here are the famous historical objects - the cathedral of St. Sofia and Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, included by UNESCO on the World Heritage List . This protected area also includes the buffer zone with an area of 220 hectares surrounding both attractions.

In the "Tsarskoye Selo" at 5 Radialnaya address, two land ownerships are located. One of these sites, undeveloped and littered with construction garbage, belongs to Petro Poroshenko. The owner of the other, on the contrary, is Igor Kononenko , one of the closest friends and business partners of the Ukrainian president. A house with an adjacent tennis court has already been erected on this site.

Igor Kononenko is now the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the bloc of Petro Poroshenko. It is often called the "gray cardinal" of the proceeding in the Ukrainian parliament. In 2009, however, Kononenko was a member of the Kyiv administration, was an ally of the then mayor Leonid Chernovetsky. It was under him that the City Council approved the transfer of land at 5 Radioralnaya address, a company, which co -owner of which was Kononenko. The program is free.

Long -term plan?

How could it happen that the land belonging to the state, located on the protected territory and, based on market prices, of more than $ 25 million, was transferred for free to the little -known company of the Kyiv deputy?

Documents say that Kononenko “laid eyes” on the “Tsarskoye Selo” back in 2003. It was then that he founded the company Zelenbudservis-K, which took control of landscape services and landscaping in the Pechersk district. The service engaged in these works had at its disposal several greenhouses and warehouses-which were convenient-completely near the monastery complex, namely, at 5 Radialnaya address, 5 years of Landshanthnikov moved to another place, away from the laurel, to one of the gloomy industrial regions of Kyiv.

Olga Kristovnikova , the chief agronomist of the landscaping service, confirmed the Schemes program that the final move took place in 2008. Images with Google Earth, dating back to 2008, confirm the whereabouts of greenhouses and warehouses at 5 Radialnaya address. Then these objects disappear, giving way to Kononenko’s house and the still empty section of Poroshenko.

Simple combination

In an interview with the Scheme program, Kononenko openly recognizes his role in the entire combination: “I really dealt with this issue since 2004,” he says, adding that he was looking for a new place to place a land improvement service not on his own initiative, but by order of Alexander Omelchenko - predecessor Leonid Chernovetsky in the mayor of Kyiv.

I have really dealt with this issue since 2004

While the plots on the radial were liberated, the company Zelenbudservis-K, still having the rights to dispose of the plots in the Tsarskoye Selo, slowly changed its status. She ceased to be private, and re -registered as a construction cooperative. As a result, according to the Ukrainian Land Code, Zelenbudservis-K received plots on Radialnaya 5, free of charge, which was approved by a majority vote of the deputies of the City Council in April 2009.

Civil activist Alexander Dyadyuk says that the peak of this kind of transactions for real estate transmission was just under Chernovetsky, better known as Lenya Cosmos-an eccentric millionaire, which once declared that he intends to fly into space with his cat. “It is in this way - through fake cooperatives - large and very valuable land plots have found new owners,” Dyadyuk notes. “The acquisition of land on Radialnaya, 5, can be considered the largest transaction of this kind in Kyiv.”

This deal was accompanied by numerous violations. None of the 12 members of the Zelenbudservis-K cooperative was in line for housing, and this is a necessary condition for free allocation of land. Of these 12 people, at least six are known for their close ties with Peter Poroshenko and Igor Kononenko. Among them - Kononenko’s sister and political adviser to Poroshenko.

It is associated with Poroshenko and Oles Dovgia , the secretary of the city council, who agreed to the beginning of the transfer of land plots "Zelenbudservisu-K". The company, which officially bought land on the radial from Zelenbudservis-K, so that, in turn, to sell it to Poroshenko and Kononenko, is registered in Odessa. It turned out to be a "one-day company", which was liquidated shortly after the final change of owners took place, at the end of 2009.

But the most alarming is the suspicion that Poroshenko could use his influence to close the case of the use of the Earth on the radial.

"Where there is nothing to dig"

In 2012, employees of the Kiev Pechersk Historical and Architectural Reservation were concerned about 5, construction, including the work of excavators. The Director of the Reservation Lubomel Mikhailin sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, expressing concern about the fact that they are digging not just in the territory protected by UNESCO, but a few meters from the fortress of the early XVIII century.

No violations of the law were found

Construction in the protected territory is not prohibited, but should be strictly regulated. You can start work only by receiving two permits: from the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and from expert-archaeologists of the National Academy of Sciences. Specialists sent a letter directly to Poroshenko (then not yet the president), informing him of the threat, which is the construction for the old fortress. The work was stopped only in early 2013. But by that time, one of the lunets of the fortress was damaged.

At the time of the start of construction work, Poroshenko had no permission from the Ministry of Culture or the Academy of Sciences. (He finally received the latter, but only in December 2012). The prosecutor's office of the Pechersky district started a criminal case in connection with the damage caused by the fortress - in accordance with the Law on the Protection of History and Architecture Monuments. However, on November 6, 2014 - five months after the presidential inauguration of Petro Poroshenko - the case was closed. Alena Yakhno , a press secretary of the Kiev prosecutor's office, said that no violations of the law were found. Less than three weeks later, November 24, Poroshenko filed a new application for the resumption of construction. (So far, however, no new works on the site are being carried out.)

Neither Poroshenko himself nor his spokeswoman Svyatoslav Tsegolko agreed to personally explain the situation of the “scheme” program. Alexander Lutsky , a former vice-mayor of Kiev (under Chernovetsky), authorized to provide information on behalf of the president, provided Radio Liberty with a copy of the Poroshenko submitted application for construction, but then said to the reporters: "You are digging where there is nothing to dig."