The developer, despite the order of the Ministry of Culture and with the police doing nothing, is demolishing an old building – the Barban estate on Observatorna Street, 6. Earlier, defenders of the historic building reported an attack on them by "titushki", who were allegedly brought in by the developer to demolish the building. The company that carries out the work on the estate is the Information Group "Agency of Metropolitan Messages" LLC
One of the founders and ultimate beneficiaries of the company is the half-brother of the famous TV showman Savik Shuster.
This became known from a post on Facebook by Oleh Symoroz, an activist and former aide to former Kyiv City Council member Prokhor Antonenko, on his page.
According to local residents who came to the defence of the historic building, the developer wants to demolish the estate, but does not have the relevant permits.
"Despite the order of the Ministry of Culture to stop any work at 6 Observatorna Street in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv, this morning the developer tried to bring in construction equipment. This time, under the guise of sports young people who beat up local residents," the statement said.
According to the activist, unknown individuals in tracksuits attacked the defenders of the house and started a scuffle. However, according to the activists, the police did not detain the "titushki".
It is noted that the local residents who suffered wrote statements to the police and were referred for a forensic medical examination.
The activist also reported that on August 12, the police conducted investigative actions. During them, according to Symoroz, it turned out that the developer was aware of the existence of an order from the Ministry of Culture to suspend any construction work.
The public group “Save Observatorna 6” reports that the developer has begun to break the roof and ceilings of the old building.
Activists have blocked Observatorna Street and are demanding that Kyiv City State Administration officials and police leadership appear at the scene.
The estate of the titular councilor Oleksandr Barban is located in the upper reaches of the Observatorna Ravine, next to the hill of the same name, 350 m from Lviv Square.
The famous Kyiv local historian Dmytro Malakov, in particular, describes it as follows: "On the slope of an ancient hollow, later laid out as a lane-street, stands a small one-storey brick mansion among the multi-storey buildings of the late period."
Indeed, due to the difficult terrain, this area was not built up for a long time. This lasted until 1891, when the keys of the stream flowing through the ravine were not finally locked in a collector.
At various times, well-known cultural figures of the Soviet period lived and worked here, including Oleksandr Korniichuk, Nataliya Zabila, and Vanda Vasilevska. Since the 1970s, the house has housed the editorial office of the Kultura i Zhyttia newspaper, and after independence, the building was transferred to the General Directorate for the Service of Foreign Missions, from where it miraculously became private property.
According to ua.times, the project for the development of the territory was developed by the architectural company Kramall Studio. According to the visualisation project, a three-section residential complex with 12 floors with underground parking and social infrastructure facilities is to be built on Observatorna Street.
Since 2020, the building has been owned by the Capital Messages Agency Information Group LLC. According to the Youcontrol information system, the company’s founder is Observatornyi LLC, and the ultimate beneficiaries are the founders of Observatornyi LLC.
Observatornyi LLC was registered in 2012. The company’s principal activity is "Development of construction projects". The founders of Observatornyi LLC are Denys Shostak, Yaroslav Horbyk, Oleksandr Trakhachov and Viktor Shuster. The same individuals are the ultimate beneficiaries of this company.
In the media, Viktor Shuster is referred to as the half-brother of the famous TV presenter and showman Savik Shuster. At different times, he worked as an assistant to MPs Oleh Shablotovych (Party of Regions, Verkhovna Rada of the VII convocation) and Maksym Polyakov (People’s Front political party, VIII convocation).
According to media reports, Viktor Shuster was a participant in the raider seizure of the former headquarters of the Party of Regions - the building of the Zoryanyi cinema on Moskovska Street in the Pechersk district of Kyiv.
According to a journalistic investigation by the Nashi Hroshi media outlet, Viktor Shuster was a business partner of Mykola Nehrych (a developer and member of the Kyiv City Council of the VIII convocation (Solidarnist faction)).
Earlier, KV reported that the Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko was asked to check the legality of construction works on the territory of the local archeological monument "Kopyryov’s End Cultural Layer" in Shevchenkivskyi district. This is the site of the Barbana mansion, a one-storey 19th-century building that was to be included in the list of newly discovered cultural heritage sites. During the Soviet era, the building was nationalised and used as a children’s somatic hospital. Back in 2015, the Research Institute for Monument Protection Research proposed to include this building in the list of newly discovered cultural heritage sites.
Ihor Brovko
KyivVlada