Transcript of the program from April 1, 2006 Hello, today we’ll be talking about the following: The irrepressible Oleg Mitvol is threatening yet another construction project. The prosecutor’s office may get involved with departmental dormitories. And a Shaolin branch on Theater Square. Oleg Mitvol is at it again. Once more, he has found people destroying Mother Nature and unleashed all his fury on them — as usual, with loud statements in the media. This time, his environmental campaign has targeted the Porsche Russland sales and service center on Leningradskoye Highway and the Yevropeysky shopping center on Kiyevskaya Square in Moscow. The brave defender of nature has established, in particular, that the Porsche Russland construction project includes a parking lot in the protected water zone of the Khimki Reservoir, while the builders of the Yevropeysky center on Kiyevskaya Square plan to place a parking lot in the protected water zone of the Moskva River. To save the river from pollution caused by cars, the deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor (Russia’s federal environmental watchdog) appealed to the mayor to revoke the construction permits that had been issued. We asked Oleg Mitvol himself to tell us about his difficult struggle. O. MITVOL: We have sent documents to the Prosecutor General’s Office concerning violations of environmental legislation during the construction of the Yevropeysky shopping center on Kiyevskaya Square, as well as the Porsche Center located in the protected water zone of the Khimki Reservoir. We want to know why companies — serious companies — knowing full well that there are major legal violations taking place, continue building in breach of all environmental standards. We believe they are obliged to comply with Russian law, and we will make sure that they do. And this despite the fact that since December they have already known they were in violation. Construction is proceeding at a rapid pace; apparently they are рассчитывают потом все согласовать задним числом, I want to say that this will not be allowed. As for the situation on Kiyevskaya Square, the issue is that people knew the proper permit for building the parking facility had not been obtained, but apparently decided that money solves everything. It does not. First of all, if there is a law, then it is the same no matter how much money one has. We believe that arrangements with inspectors and everything else are not an alternative to complying with the law. It should be said that this time the sinister polluters turned out to be serious people. Behind the Porsche technical center stand intergovernmental agreements between Russia and Germany, while behind the Yevropeysky shopping center is, among others, Zurab Tsereteli, who is one of the founders of the client company, JSC Kiyevskaya Ploshchad. But apparently that cannot intimidate a true defender of nature. He is ready to challenge anyone. The only question is how effective those challenges are. Oleg Mitvol’s work is certainly noble. He is protecting nature. But for some reason, the more he protects it, the less satisfaction is felt both by environmentalists, who initially supported him, and by the broader public. Judge for yourself. Although this environmental official promised to bring down his retribution on mansions along the Moskva River, elite country-house developments, yacht clubs, high-rise construction in Moscow, and indeed almost all major building projects, so far the only thing he can really count as an achievement is the demolition of gazebos at the dachas of some not particularly wealthy residents in the Istra district of the Moscow region. A huge number of sites that Rosprirodnadzor had promised to stamp out after a brief stir in the press ended up successfully receiving the necessary approvals. Some skeptics have even begun to wonder whether all this noise and commotion is aimed only at driving up the rates for the services of those people who, for money, can arrange any expert review. The accusations against the two construction projects mentioned are quite serious, and if Oleg Mitvol’s angry statements really do reflect a desire to defend the environment and the rule of law, then it is entirely within his power to ensure that construction is halted immediately, permits and warrants are revoked, and a decision is made to demolish what has already been built. We shall see how far his activism goes in practice. break For the first time since the new Housing Code came into force, the Moscow prosecutor’s office has, at least indirectly, taken the side of dormitory residents. Under the new law, they are often simply thrown out onto the street. Where the owners of departmental dormitories fear using brute force, they drive residents out by creating unbearable living conditions. Repairs are not carried out for years, and utilities are not merely left unfixed — sometimes they are deliberately damaged behind the scenes. The city government and district prefectures, apparently overwhelmed by citizens’ complaints, seem to have reached their limit. Baidakov, the prefect of the Central Administrative District, announced that owners of dormitories who cannot ensure decent living conditions for residents, but at the same time do not want to hand the property over to the city, will now face criminal prosecution. Owners who disagree with this approach will have to deal with the prosecutor’s office. President Putin’s recent highly successful visit to China will also affect the architectural appearance of our city. As is well known, the president signed an agreement with the Chinese side on the construction of a number of facilities in Moscow. The largest will be the Chinese Huaming Park in the Botanical Garden area, but the real sensation was the agreement of the monks of the legendary Shaolin Monastery to open something like a branch in Moscow as well. The Russian guest made such an impression on the monks that, after many hours of deliberation, they broke centuries-old vows and agreed to present Moscow with one of the buildings from the monastery complex. Naturally, a gift like that must be given the most prominent possible location. And yesterday, the urban planning council under the mayor approved the construction of a Chinese building on Theater Square, where the Maly Theatre currently stands. Part of the monastery will, practically brick by brick, be dismantled in Shaolin, transported to Moscow, and reassembled here by Zurab Tsereteli’s workshop under the supervision of the monks themselves. All in all, a Chinese monastery in place of the Maly Theatre is a controversial decision, but Moscow architects on the council nevertheless approved it unanimously. break It was I, Alexei Navalny, executive secretary of the Defense of Muscovites movement, who denounced these excesses on the ground. The program was prepared with the help of Yevgenia Ten. If you have something to say to the Urban Development Chronicles program, write to us at echo@echo.msk.ru, marked for Navalny. Until next Saturday!