Astapovich: Metropolitan's request to demolish buildings illegal

Historical buildings which Metropolitan Paul has requested to demolish are subject to full preservation and reconstruction according to the law, chairman of the Voluntary Society for Historical and Cultural Monuments Anton Astapovich said in an interview with Euroradio.

As Euroradio reported earlier, Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Pavel appealed to the Deputy Prime Minister Natallia Kachanava. He requested permission to demolish several buildings in the historical center of Minsk, in Vyzvalennya street - houses No 6, 6A, and 8. The house at Vyzvalennya 8 was excluded from the list of historical and cultural heritage in 2014.

According to the Metropolitan, the two houses have not been operated for more than 25 years. One of the buildings is in disrepair, the second one is in ruins.

However, according to historian Anton Astapovich, the condition of the building is not a reason for depriving them of the historical status.

Astapovich: "These buildings are subject to the full preservation and reconstruction under the law. They are located in the historical place called "Minsk Center"  which has protected elements like historical planning structure, buildings, landscape and cultural layer. What is the point of demolishing them, if you have to rebuild the lost volumes? It means, they will build there something that does not fit into the regulations of the law."

In his letter, the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church requested that the buildings were removed from the list of monuments that have historical and cultural values, "because they do not have any historical significance and do not represent the cultural or architectural value." He also offered to coordinate the dismantling of the buildings without restoration.