Not demolition, but reconstruction

In Yekaterinburg, the Department for the Protection of Monuments, city activists and the Russian Orthodox Church cannot agree on whether the church is still standing or has been demolished.

On April 20, activist of the Real History society Marina Sakharova reported on her Facebook page that an architectural monument of federal significance, the Assumption Church of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent, was demolished in Yekaterinburg. The building, built in 1778-1782, was considered one of the three oldest in the capital of the Urals and was under state protection.

In 2011, the church, which was in the possession of the district military hospital, was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. On the eve of the Easter holidays, according to Sakharova, the building was surrounded by a fence and then demolished. To prove her words, she attached photographs taken in the fenced area. Particularly ironic is the fact that this happened before the International Day for the Preservation of Monuments, which was celebrated on April 18.

in what happened Local media became interested and sent their inquiries to the Yekaterinburg diocese and the department of state protection of cultural heritage sites. The answers contradicted each other.

The diocese stated that planned work is being carried out in the Assumption Church, and that the restoration project for the temple has been agreed upon by the state authorities for the protection of monuments. According to the vicar, Bishop Eugene (Kulberg), “the church stands still.”

The State Conservation of Monuments, on the contrary, emphasized that “the assignment and permission to carry out work to preserve the cultural heritage site were not issued, the scientific and design documentation was not agreed upon.”

The head of the legal and organizational work department of the department, Evgenia Ignatova, separately explained that it is premature to announce demolition before an official inspection is carried out.

No one has yet gone to the site and checked it. To identify those photographs that you saw on the Internet, just like us, and to say that the photographs relate to this object, that demolition actually took place there, is a little premature.

We have prepared an appeal to the prosecutor's office to approve an unscheduled inspection. We are now taking the necessary measures.

Evgenia Ignatova, head of the department of legal and organizational work of the department of state protection of cultural heritage sites of the Sverdlovsk region

Journalists from the E1 portal took photographs from a drone and made sure that the federal architectural monument had indeed been demolished. They pointed out that the site of the Assumption Church is now an almost empty construction site, with “fresh-looking” brickwork rising above the foundation. It was not possible to reliably establish whether old bricks or new building materials are used.

Journalists suggested that the complex and expensive work of historians and restorers to recreate the unique building was “replaced with an ordinary remake.”

Despite the photography, on April 21, the Ekaterinburg diocese announced that it denied information about the demolition of the building. As Bishop Eugene explained, restoration work is being carried out at the site “in accordance with a project agreed upon and approved by the relevant structures.”

The temple stands in its place, as it stood, the walls are being repaired and the destroyed bricks are being replaced.

Bishop Evgeny, vicar of the Yekaterinburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church

The bishop noted that the church had previously housed the kitchen of a military hospital. According to the vicar, constant fumes, as well as the lack of major repairs, gave a natural result - the building of the Assumption Church was in disrepair, the plaster was crumbling, and trees grew on the rotten roof.

The vicar emphasized that before drawing conclusions, people could visit the monastery and talk with the abbess. In response, journalists drew the clergyman’s attention to the fact that the monastery “did not bless” the photography and did not allow access to the facility under construction. When asked to comment on the situation at the Novo-Tikhvin Monastery, they limited themselves to a statement that they were carrying out work in accordance with the law.