National interest VS “vegetable factory”. Will the state protect Kytaiv?

In the new year, russians destroyed the Shukhevych Museum in Lviv. Among the enemy’s objectives in this war is to destroy our cultural heritage, as it is an important component of national security. However, it’s not only the enemy that is currently destroying cultural heritage.

In Kyiv, near the Golosiyivsky National Park, there is a historically significant area called Kytaiv. It is under threat of development. Kytaiv is a monument of national importance: remains of fortifications, Trypillian ceramics, dwellings from the times of Kyivan Rus with clay stoves, and more have been discovered here. Kyiv is the only European capital that has preserved within its borders a complex of archaeological cultural heritage of an ancient city.

The struggle to preserve this area has been ongoing for almost 20 years. In the Economic Court of Kyiv, on January 16 and 17, two court hearings will take place regarding two land plots. The case, filed by the Office of the Prosecutor General, will be considered by judges Petro Palamar and Natalia Yahicheva. Meanwhile, there have been several complimentary publications in the media in favor of the developer since the end of last year.

Who wants to build and what?

The decision to develop the cultural heritage of national significance was made during the chairmanship of Leonid Chernovetsky. The same Chernovetsky who called for recognizing “LNR”/”DNR” and who is currently suspected of state treason. The land was leased to the Kyiv Vegetable Factory, which later signed an investment agreement with Saga Development and then with KAN Development.

Saga Development is led by Andriy Vavrysh, who was the deputy director of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration (KMDS) and is reported to have close ties to the current MP and former Party of Regions member, Dmytro Isaenko.

Kytaiv is valuable not only for the monuments of the Trypillian culture but also for the fortifications that existed during the time of Kyivan Rus.

Photo: Still frame from the video “Kytaiv. Fortress of the Princely Era.” “Scientific Meetings”

Then this area was called Peresichen (chronicle mentions from the years 1154, 1161). Here is an approximate look of the map of Kyiv at that time.

And what about Europe?

Vyacheslav Baranov

representative of the Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences

This is the stage of formation of the Rus’ state from the 9th-10th century to the times of Vladimir Sviatoslavich’s reign. Even what archaeologists have already found are priceless artifacts. Over time, the understanding of this value will also come to the elites. So, what kind of state do we want to build? Why are we destroying our own history? This is almost the last thing that can be found about Rus’ within the city limits where there is no development. We need an archaeological park, like in Kernave (Lithuania), Mikulcice (Czech Republic), or Lednica (Poland).

The scientist emphasizes that in the future, this would have a very positive impact on the development of tourism. He adds that the authorities should consider historical sites as a matter of national security rather than a personal resource for enrichment.

Archaeological Discovery: Remains of an Ancient Rus’ Oven

What should have been an archaeological park, the Kyiv authorities announced five years ago, but it never happened.

Why is archaeology about national security?

Mykhailo Pohrebyskyi

representative of the NGO “Ekozahin”

Local authorities do not have the right to distribute such land. Where there is archaeology, it concerns local and national heritage because it’s about national security. This is not the first time Kyiv City Council has done this – Podil, where streets from the times of Kyivan Rus were discovered and where now the Museum on Poshtova is located, while they wanted a shopping mall – it’s the same story. There is a legal precedent where the prosecutor’s office’s lawsuits were satisfied in such cases, and the land was returned to the state. No European capital has such an integral and well-preserved complex of archaeological heritage. You can’t excavate everything and say: build! Such sites are museified and excavated in strips. Now there is not the level of knowledge that there will be in 100 years. That’s why they are left for the research of future generations.

But this locality is valuable not only for what lies beneath the ground. It’s called Kytaivska Desert because there used to be a hermitage, detached from the monastery. Pilgrims come here to visit not only the churches but also the caves, the original layout of which is still not fully explored.

Photo: website “Kyiv is My Favorite City,” Kytaiv

egardless of what scientists or environmentalists might say, developers have their own plans for Kytaiv. According to their expectations, the area should simply comprise high-rises and shopping centers. Such a plan was presented by a representative of Saga Development in 2019.

Візуалізація проєкту забудовника SAGA Development. «Хмарочос»

Visualization of the developer SAGA Development‘s project: “Skyscraper”

Then, after the presidential elections, information emerged that Vavrysh in Kyiv is the “curator of Zelensky.” This was reported not only by the media, but also emphasized by Vitali Klitschko, although Vavrysh denied it and insisted that the Mayor of Kyiv “as always, confuses everything.” However, Vavrysh’s situation worsened when there were changes in leadership on Bankova, and his acquaintance Andriy Bohdan, the former head of the Presidential Office, stepped aside. The State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) conducted searches at the Saga Development office.

Now another developer, Igor Nikonov, and his KAN DEVELOPMENT, want to build here.

What is the developer’s stance?

Igor Nikonov

представник KAN Development

We signed a lease agreement with the city in 2007 and have been paying rent. This is municipal land outside the boundaries of the national monument. KAN DEVELOPMENT joined the project in 2021 and plans to build a residential complex with full infrastructure here. This will be two to three-story construction. Part of our plot is regulated by laws on the protection of cultural heritage, and we comply with all legislative requirements. The prosecutor’s office is trying to take this land from the city of Kyiv into state ownership (for some reason, this interested no one for 17 years). We will not spoil our reputation by doing something illegal. We are ready to finance the work of archaeologists and make this site a monument of history and architecture, as it deserves. If we are not allowed to do this, then there will always be garages, cellars, and disorder there.

By the way, Nikonov, like Vavrysh, also worked in the city government, being the first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration at one time.

Document of the protected landscape project provided by KAN Development. Controversial plots are outlined in black.

Nikonov adds that there is no officially agreed upon document proving that this land is a national monument. As proof for his argument, he provides a document approved by the head of the State Service for Cultural Heritage Protection.

What is the position of Kyiv and the Ministry of Culture?

The Office of the Prosecutor General is suing the Kyiv City Council and the Kyiv Vegetable Factory in the interests of the Kyiv City State Administration and the Ministry of Culture. Since the Kyiv Council had allocated two plots of land, there are two lawsuits. The Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences is the third party involved.

The prosecution demands the return of this land to the state, as it is a site of national archaeological significance. The Ministry of Culture fully supports the prosecution’s claims.

What is the position of the Ministry of Culture?

Nataliya Voytseshchuk

Head of the Permitting and Approval Documentation Department of the Ministry of Culture

According to the law, such monuments can only be state property. The Kyiv Council is not authorized to manage the disputed land plot. Since it is a monument in the city of Kyiv, the land of the archaeological monument is administered by the Kyiv City Military Administration. In 2019, we reviewed the registration documentation for the monument submitted by the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, which was recommended by the Expert Commission for further development in order to make amendments to the Register regarding the “Kytaiv Archaeological Complex” monument. The territory of the monument defined in the new passport was recommended for consideration in the development of the Historical and Architectural Master Plan of Kyiv, which was approved by the Ministry of Culture in 2021.

The Ministry of Culture also emphasizes that the current practice of the Supreme Court, based on compliance with legislation, allows for the return of lands with archaeological heritage to state ownership.

The Prosecutor’s Office also filed a lawsuit in the interests of the Kyiv City State Administration. So far, it has been impossible to get a comment from them. On the Facebook page of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the Kyiv City State Administration, a post dated January 15 reports an event held by the NGO “Heritage of Kytaiv,” at which representatives of KAN Development were present, as we found out.

What is the organization “Heritage of Kytaiv”?

Mykhailo Pohrebyskyi

Representative of the NGO “Eco Squad”

This non-governmental organization is headed by Serhiy Korzhanevskyi. After the first court hearings in these two cases in the last days of 2023, we noticed a series of publications mentioning this NGO, Korzhanevskyi, and stating that the investor could save the situation in Kytaiv, which coincides with what the developer is currently saying. Therefore, we can assume that there is an attempt to create an information campaign in the media in favor of the developer ahead of the court hearings. And now the question arises why the event at the Kyiv City State Administration was held specifically with them, and why defenders of Kytaiv are not being invited, and all this is happening again before the court. This is concerning. If the developer paid rent, then they can reclaim their funds through the court, but no one can return such cultural heritage to Ukraine.

Indeed, in the media, it was possible to find a message with the “company news” marker, indicating that this is not an editorial material.

Photo: Screenshot from the TSN website

Here they mention “Heritage of Kytaiv” and say that “a socially responsible investor has finally appeared… a new modern district will appear on the city map.”

The identical text with an identical photo was also published in another media outlet. Here it is labeled as an “opinion.”

Photo: Screenshot from the NV website

And this indicates that information is systematically disseminated and the information field is shaped ahead of the court hearing.

Let’s recall that currently, the government is considering a resolution similar to the controversial urban planning “reform” (5655). Experts have studied the document’s text and argue that it significantly worsens the situation with the protection of cultural heritage.

In addition to the cases concerning Kytaiv, another important hearing will take place on January 23, which LB.ua has already written about. The case concerns the development of the buffer zone near Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a World Heritage site. It could be removed from the UNESCO World Heritage list if the developer obtains permission to implement their project.

Specially for “LB.ua“