Kazan-area park with century-old trees faces loss of heritage status
The estate park is located in the village of Klyuchishchi
The Naryshkin-Paulucci estate park in the village of Klyuchishchi may lose its monument status: the landowner is seeking this through the courts. On his side is an expert examination conducted as part of the court proceedings. Opposing him is the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The park is located in the village of Klyuchishchi in the Verkhneuslonsky District. This place is famous for trees planted at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. In August last year, the park was included in the register of cultural heritage sites. Concerned residents of Tatarstan achieved this after several years of struggle.
This status is being challenged by the landowner Roman Gushchin. Tomorrow, 3 February, the Fourth Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction in Nizhny Novgorod will consider his complaint. This will be a key hearing in the case concerning the fate of the historical park.
As part of the court proceedings, an expert examination was conducted. Specialist V.A. Avdeev concluded that the park does not deserve the status of a cultural heritage site. This raises concerns for the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites. They insist that this «legally illiterate» conclusion cannot be taken into account.
«In his conclusion, the expert classifies the historical linden alley as a »windbreak forest belt« and ignores basic legal norms, according to which parks are independent cultural heritage sites,» the department believes.
The committee is confident that a decision in favor of the landowner could pave the way for the destruction and development of historical green zones in other regions of Russia as well. Tatarstan officials will appeal to the Russian Ministry of Culture with a request to check the quality of the expert«s work and consider the issue of his certification.
The protest has been joined by a member of the monument protection society and assistant to the head of Tatarstan, Olesya Baltusova. In her Telegram channel, she called for creating a resonance around this situation and influencing the «unchecked experts.»
«The landowner wants to develop the park and is not even interested in the opinion of the state body. Some expert considers the park to be a worthless planting,» Baltusova stated.
The Naryshkin-Paulucci estate park is famous for trees planted at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. This land was once owned by the ancient noble Naryshkin family. Under them, a wooden manor house, outbuildings, and a large park were built, but by our time, the buildings have been lost.
Opposition to the logging and development of this territory in Tatarstan has been ongoing since last year. In August, published a petition that gathered 416 signatures in a couple of weeks. Residents of Klyuchishchi believe that the new landowner wants to build a residential complex right up against the linden alley. For this, it will be necessary to cut down century-old trees.
