Krasnodar authorities take green zone for church construction

In Krasnodar on January 29, a session of the City Duma took place where deputies almost unanimously approved a decision to seize part of the Alley of the 80th Anniversary of the Formation of Krasnodar Krai in the Yubileiny Microdistrict (YMR). There, despite protests from local residents, they plan to build a church 70 meters tall (approximately 230 feet).

Only one deputy publicly opposed this decision, and before the start of the session, a lone picket was held near the administration building. A woman came out with a sign reading «YMR against the development of the alley.»

A journalist from 93.RU attended the City Duma session—here«s how the discussion went.

Name the Benefactor

The discussion of the green zone in the Yubileiny Microdistrict was the tenth item on the agenda. Vasily Domrin, the head of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, gave a short report. He stated that the territory planning project, which determined the location for the religious facility, had been approved. According to him, 6.48 hectares (about 16 acres) were left for the park instead of the original 6.6 hectares. The building coverage will be 50%—about 30 hundredths of a hectare (0.74 acres).

Vasily Domrin said the territory planning project that determined the location for the religious facility had been approved. The project has already received a positive expert opinion, and no violations were found. Domrin separately stated that the supervisory authorities had checked the arguments of residents advocating for the preservation of the green zone, but they «were not confirmed.»

Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) deputy Alexander Safronov addressed his colleagues and asked them not to support the project. He reminded them that «residents have expressed their attitude extremely clearly,» having collected thousands of signatures and participated in hearings. Furthermore, millions of budget funds have already been invested in the existing embankment—what budget efficiency can we talk about if all this is going to be dismantled, the deputy asked.

Safronov also asked them to finally announce the name of the benefactor who plans to build the church. In the deputy«s opinion, if the authorities don»t listen to the people, the public will surely be able to convince the benefactor to build something more useful for residents: a cultural center, a school, a road. Safronov also noted that there are plenty of plots in the city where a church could be built. For example, the unfinished construction in Zaton, which has already become a «monument to unfulfilled promises.»

A year ago, the deputy invited Mayor Yevgeny Naumov to come to Yubileiny—he said he had no problem with that, but over the year, no one actually met with the residents. Despite public requests, the authorities have still not entered into dialogue.

«We all watch the news, and honestly, there»s not much good news. Residents have a huge number of questions for the authorities, including of a corrupt nature. Probably, under these conditions, we shouldn«t adopt yet another decision that is not supported by residents and goes against their opinion,» Safronov concluded.

Scoundrels and Hypocrites Write Denunciations

New People party deputy Sergei Klimov decided to respond to Safronov, calling the «arguments» about the invested hundreds of millions of rubles false. According to him, the residents themselves are also talking about «something that isn»t there.« After all, 160 million rubles (about $1.8 million at current rates) were spent on the entire embankment, and the construction will be on a part »where there is absolutely no greenery.«

The first stage of the Alley of the 80th Anniversary of the Formation of Krasnodar Krai opened in 2018, having spent over 160 million rubles (about $1.8 million) from the budget on it. The very next year, the authorities promised to start construction of the second stage, even developing a project. But the work was postponed year after year. After the start of the Special Military Operation (SVO), it became known that there was no more money for the embankment and shoreline reinforcement.

According to Klimov, along with the construction of the church, there will be shoreline reinforcement and development of the territory, as well as an extension of the green zone. The deputy called all opponents «scoundrels and hypocrites,» and the opinion of thousands of people—a delusion. Activist and YMR resident Vitaly Cherkasov, who actively advocates for the preservation of the embankment, was called a «hidden traitor» by Klimov because he «has reason to think so.»

«Scoundrels and hypocrites don»t talk about this when they meet with people... These are the very people now agitating the population of Yubileiny. The deputy sitting here is taking advantage of this, has gathered anti-war activists around him, and is trying to, I don«t know, destructively influence the city. And this is not the first time, by the way, he constantly writes denunciations. I believe we shouldn»t listen to such hypocrites. And we need to work with residents, we need a project, indeed, many are deluded. Many heard about fences, something else, many don«t even know that this will be built with private money,» Klimov concluded.

«Alexander Mikhailovich, would you like to add, or will you...»—after Klimov«s speech, City Duma Chairperson Vera Galushko addressed Safronov.

«I would rather ask you, as the chairperson. Do you and the entire presidium really think that discussions in the City Duma should be conducted in this manner? With insults?» Safronov clarified.

«I told you, open a discussion club, run it, and we will actively participate in the discussion club with you. Here we make decisions. If you want to hear my opinion on this issue, I have already expressed it to you repeatedly. Believe me, there will be a wonderful park in the Yubileiny Microdistrict. And later, those who are now opposing and telling people that there will be complete disgrace here will be ashamed. First, the church will not be built with budget money. It occupies a very small area, only 10% of the land allocated for the park. This territory and the shoreline reinforcement will be improved, there will be order and it will be very beautiful, there will be comfortable conditions for mothers and elderly people to relax,» Galushko said.

«That»s not what I asked, Vera Fedorovna. I asked about the level of discussion. I somehow thought that the City Duma was a place for civilized discussion. But apparently, I was wrong,« Safronov parried again.

«We»ve already talked to you about this,« Galushko replied, asking to proceed to the vote.

44 people voted in favor of approving the project, three against. Who exactly is unknown. Besides Safronov, no one else publicly expressed their disagreement.

Only Yubileiny Residents Think Wrong

Many deputies on the morning of January 29, on their way to the session, passed by a female resident of the Yubileiny Microdistrict. She held a lone picket on the steps of the mayor«s office with a sign saying »YMR against the development of the alley.« Deputy Sergei Klimov was talking to her. Standing nearby was YMR deputy Alexei Egorov, who remained silent and only occasionally smiled strainedly. All of this was filmed by an employee of the city»s Department of Internal Policy.

The woman was outraged as to why the church was decided to be built precisely in the dead-end Yubileiny Microdistrict, which already lacks social facilities and infrastructure. She gave the example of a small church in Festivalny with 300 seats—the only one for a huge number of people.

«Why are you worried about others? Others—that»s a different story,« commented another deputy who approached, resembling Fyodor Gerashchenko, who has no connection to YMR but supports the construction.

Klimov explained to the woman that a benefactor wants to build the church at his own expense. The city has no money for either shoreline reinforcement or the second stage of the embankment. And, according to the deputy, there won«t be for another 30 years (where this timeframe came from is unknown). Allegedly, the administration is worried about houses that could be washed away without shoreline reinforcement, so it was decided to allow the church to be built at the sponsor»s wish. In return, the city will get improvement works.

«Only the residents of Yubileiny think wrong, we live in one city. An investor is ready to invest so much that there will be shoreline reinforcement. No one else is ready. The administration cares about the city so that the shore is not washed away anymore. When houses start to be undermined, you will also be outraged that the shoreline reinforcement wasn»t built. A certain group of scoundrels has convinced you that this will be bad and terrible. The problem is that people don«t want to think ahead,» Klimov retorted.

At the same time, he could not answer the question of why the administration didn«t think ahead, postponing the shoreline reinforcement project for years. He also found it difficult to explain why public hearings were held if the opinion of the majority of participants was not taken into account. However, he agreed that the administration made a mistake by not holding meetings with residents.

The deputy also again expressed his grievances against local resident Vitaly Cherkasov to the woman, accusing him of «agitating the situation.» To which he received the response that Yubileiny is not just one person. Thousands of citizens are ready to meet with Mayor Yevgeny Naumov, who never came for a conversation.

Regarding timelines, according to Klimov, the shoreline reinforcement, church, and alley project will be shown to the public this year—presumably before June. But who exactly will be in charge of construction—that never became clear.

Earlier, the 93.RU portal sent a request to the Krasnodar administration to find out the expected timelines and start date of construction, as well as the name of the benefactor. The authorities ignored these questions.

When asked why a school couldn«t be built in that location instead, the deputy replied that it might »wash away,« and children are a great responsibility. He did not explain whether a church on the riverbank could »wash away.« Instead, he repeatedly downplayed the participation of Yubileiny residents in all actions, saying that participants in the video appeal and public hearings were only a couple of percent of all YMR residents. But he did not specify why the opinion of the minority at the hearings still became significant for the administration.

After the session, Klimov continued to call opponents of the development «hidden traitors and fools» in his Telegram channel, threatening that for connections with activists «you could be called in for questioning.» The deputy, who had previously complained about «denunciations» (Klimov was deprived of the right to speak at one session after an ethics commission meeting), threatened townspeople with problems because of a self-proclaimed organization that allegedly fights traitors.

Deputy Alexander Safronov called the past session and discussions a disgrace to the City Duma, because instead of civilized discussion, a circus began. He told 93.RU that the authorities not only did not hear the residents« opinion but also mocked it. To this day, none of the townspeople know the name of the mysterious benefactor, even though the decision has already been formally made, without giving people a chance to talk directly with the investor. In Safronov»s opinion, there is no need to despair—the fight continues.

«There is a ray of hope, and it is quite large. In light of the ongoing corruption scandals in the region, the prolonged activity of the initiator of all this is very doubtful,» Safronov believes. «The initiator of the church construction is Veniamin Kondratyev—everyone knows this, everyone understands. Considering what is happening now, I fully expect that they will have neither the time nor the energy left for the church,» the deputy concluded.