Deputies Vote to Restore Gogol Library in Primorye

The former Gogol Library building at Svetlanskaya Street, 119, will be removed from the privatization list and preserved as cultural heritage. Authorities have decided to restore the building, which previously could not be sold even for a symbolic sum of one ruble, and deputies supported them at a recent meeting of the Legislative Assembly of Primorye Krai (ZSPK).

Removing the Merchant Zharikov«s House from the list of privatizable objects will allow it to be preserved as a monument. The building is a cultural heritage site of regional significance, and authorities consider it important to keep it in state ownership. Currently, it is hidden behind a false facade, inside it is covered in mold, beams have rotted, and walls have cracked. We have already shown what it looks like in a photo report.

The total area is 922.4 square meters, it was planned to be sold or leased, but not all companies are willing to take on the restoration of the building. Even with a starting lot price of 1 ruble. According to modest estimates by some organizations, the cost of work could reach 200 million rubles (approximately $2.2 million at current rates).

Yevgeny Zakharov, head of a construction company from Khabarovsk, told VLADIVOSTOK1.RU that the reconstruction cost will depend on the project and deadlines.

«It is necessary not only to carry out internal work but also to preserve the monument»s appearance. This is a long process, and clients are usually not ready to wait that long. However, overall it is a feasible task. The building was already attempted to be sold last year, but I would not take on such work. It is too old and in poor condition, requiring significant resources and the ability to cooperate with contractors or attract a large number of people—about 15–20 people on site. I don«t have that many. Therefore, it is necessary to close all current projects and focus only on restoring this building,» shared Zakharov.

In 2024, the Agency for the Use and Preservation of Property concluded a lease agreement with Aurora-Stroy DV LLC, which pledged to carry out the restoration of the building. However, in January 2024, the company requested to terminate the contract. Now authorities plan to sell the building for use as a store, business center, apart-hotel, or beauty salon. The new owner will have to restore the building within seven years.

Until 2020, the library building was illegally owned by Rose LLC, which purchased it in 2007 at a reduced price. In 2009, regional authorities filed a lawsuit demanding the transaction be declared invalid. Only after ten years of litigation was the library returned to the ownership of Primorye Krai, but by that time it was already in an emergency condition.

The former Gogol Library building was constructed in 1906. In 1912, it was transferred to the city to house the city library. However, the city council allocated extremely small funds for its maintenance, forcing the library to be replenished mainly through private donations. As a result, it remained small.

In May 1908, the newspaper «Dalekaya Okraina» wrote: «Such poverty of the library collection as in the city library named after N.V. Gogol is hard to find even in a backwater county town. The library subscribes to only nine copies of newspapers, and even fewer magazines. Moreover, there are no publications from nearby regions. It is surprising that such a state of affairs is possible in such a rich port city as Vladivostok.»