Restoration and protection of cultural heritage after a great war: the role of the state and business

After the martial law, Ukraine will have a huge number of challenges related to the restoration of the usual life of citizens: restoration of infrastructure, housing, social, educational, medical facilities, etc. So why do Ukrainians take care of cultural heritage when there are more important problems? "The historical and cultural heritage marks the territory.

We exhibit the cultural border with our objects,"-says the architect-restorer, chairman of the NGO "Platform of Urbanistic Development" Viktor Dvornikov during the recent International Forum "Restoration and Restoration of Cultural Heritage of Ukraine after the Great War". But this is not the only reason.

According to the Ministry of Culture, after the start of the Russian full -scale invasion, 863 historical and cultural monuments have already been destroyed or damaged, 119 of which are of national importance, 674 are local. Understanding this fact, supported by a responsible attitude to the cultural heritage of Ukraine, prompted specialists, businessmen and public activists to organize the said forum.

The head of the All -Ukrainian Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Alexander Nikoryak emphasizes: "The enemy has destroyed many objects of cultural heritage throughout Ukraine. Their preservation is a matter of national security, because the invaders are trying to destroy our cultural code.

" However, the question is more important: the restoration of the normal life of Ukrainians or the preservation of cultural heritage? The answer may be a statement: everything can be done simultaneously, as a thought about future generations, embodying the principles of sustainable development of our country. This means that it is worth focusing on the current standards for carbon emissions by 80-90% by 2050.

To lay in the restoration of cultural and historical monuments of renewal of windows, the installation of solar panels, ventilation systems with heat recovery, etc. And this requires the adaptation of Ukrainian legislation in this area to European norms. Such a large -scale comprehensive restoration of the state should be planned now. About how to do this, told from Ukraine, Poland and Croatia, representatives of business and the state gathered in the forum. Let's start with the money.

Protection and preservation of historical objects is a financially difficult task. It is still unclear how much money will be needed to restore Russian troops destroyed by Russian troops, because the war is ongoing. It is possible to determine the amount on the example of raising funds for renovation of 20 objects that required more than UAH 2 billion. We will remind, now the number of destroyed or damaged historical monuments is approaching a thousand.

Plus, the state of objects in the temporarily occupied territories remains unknown. Our state could not afford to war and cannot now. At the same time, the business does not always understand why investing in old objects, because it is more profitable to build new ones. Moreover, investments in the restoration of cultural heritage objects are returned slowly (if, of course, they return at all). However, there is another opinion. "Cultural and historical heritage may be profitable.

It is not profitability from IT startups, of course, but in less than 10 years it is possible to pay off investments in a fully destroyed object by changing its primary function,"-emphasized the director of LLC "Palace section" , founder of the initiative "Heritage. ua" Anna Gavrilov. Business and the state expect that investors will start returning to Ukraine after the war.

You can not only be prepared for future cooperation, but also create a new niche for foreign capital, which is focused on sustainable development and interested in cooperation with socially responsible companies. For national business, these are unexpected opportunities. The evidence of this statement is such cases of companies. "Heritage. ua" has been engaged in the revival of cultural heritage since 2016.

Among the projects are the promotion and revival of the palace in Tartak, a castle in Rozdol, the building of the Sokil Society in Lviv region; Revitalization of the historic building of 1905 "Old School" in Razdol, Castle and abandoned rural houses in Pomoryany. The profitability of cultural heritage objects can be seen on the example of the Gershhorin Palace in Derazhny in Khmelnytskyi. "Heritage. ua" purchased the palace at the SPFU auction for UAH 1.

5 million, and after carrying out repair work and improvements it put the object for sale for more than UAH 5. 1 million. "Cultural and historical heritage should be part of modern life. They will also bring money money, " - said Anna Gavrilov. Similar opinions are held in an investment company, which is the General Partner of the Forum - Dovgiy Family Office. It has several successful cases of revitalization of old buildings of the late 19th - early 20th centuries.

First of all, it is about the restoration of Novikov's house in the capital Podil. The two -storey building, created by architect Mykola Kazansky in 1893, was now neglected and gradually destroyed. The company managed to restore the house almost completely. In 2018, this building became an innovative business space and returned to active Kiev life. The company believes that the issue of inheritance should be approached comprehensively and today to create "value added" objects.

It is about forming an understanding of the importance of old buildings, aesthetic capture by them. This applies to both the society and the business community. For this purpose, a cycle of radio programs and subast "Little Stories of Great Kiev" was created. The project tells how successful businessmen, artists and architects of the 19th century created Kiev.

The programs are designed to interest the audience, to sympathize with the heroes of issues and to create an understanding of the importance of protecting cultural and historical monuments. "The purpose of our project is to form conscious love of locals and businessmen in Kiev. This is our way to a well-balanced investment in preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Kiev. We are convinced that love is the main driver in this case.

We want to fall in love The desire to cherish and multiply our heritage for the next generations, "Oksana Gulyaeva explained the manager of Dovgiy Family Office. Wide promotion of cultural heritage objects will contribute to investing in their restoration and preservation.

This is what the author of numerous studies on the history of the architecture of the Dnieper and the region, the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of the Dnieper State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture Alexander Harlan: "This is in the interests of business, especially when it comes to real estate, which is mainly in the central historical parts of cities.

" They are eager to share their experience and offer assistance in the restoration of the cultural heritage of Ukraine international partners. For example, the capital restorer of Poland monuments, coordinator of the City Hall of Warsaw's initiative "The House of Reconstruction of Ukraine" Michal Krasutsky said that from 1939 to 1945 the historic center of the main Polish city was destroyed 90%. Reconstruction, which lasted more than 10 years, began immediately after the combat.

"Today, we have prepared a package of reconstruction documents to help Ukraine in this work. In the summer, we have started stabilizing and conservation of cultural heritage objects in Lviv in the summer before their reconstruction began," said Mikhal Krasuitsky. As a result of the 1991-1992 bombings, many historic buildings were destroyed and damaged in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik-the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Immediately after the war, the renewal of the city, which lasted until 2005.

According to the Director of the Local University of Architecture Michael Skurich, all the necessary funding was provided by the UN and international organizations, mostly European. A significant role was played by the fact that the Dubrovnik Restoration Institute was already established in Croatia. It was founded in 1979 after a catastrophic earthquake, which caused great destruction of the Old Town. The Institute also functioned during military aggression.

"The process of restoration of monuments should be started immediately, even when the war is still ongoing," Skurich is convinced. The UK experience may be useful for Ukraine, where the non -profit organization of National Trust has been transferred by public objects of architectural and cultural heritage in order to preserve free of charge. Today, the organization is owned by more than 500 historical monuments. Over the last 20 years, the Fund has funded 51,000 projects by £ 8. 8 billion.

The organization has an annual income of more than £ 680 million, mainly at membership contributions, donations, direct income from ownership, profit from shops, restaurants and investments. V. O. Minister of Culture Rostislav Karandeyev stated at the forum that he would initiate the formation of a resuscitation package of assistance for historical and cultural monuments.

According to him, the state expects about UAH 250 million from licenses for gambling in 2024, which will be aimed at priority work to protect inheritance. However, foreign partners should also be involved, as domestic revenues are not enough. "Today we have close contact with Italian partners, in particular at the government level. The relevant decisions made to Odessa, Mariupol and Chernihiv, allow us to plan certain works. But they will happen after the war is over," Karandeyev emphasized.

The forum also announced the development of a strategy for the restoration of cultural heritage, which combines the positions of the state and specialists in the field of cultural heritage protection. The document will display the vision of all participants in the process and answer a number of fundamental questions: "What criteria will the objects be chosen?", "In what form will the monuments be restored?" etc.

The strategy will be the basis, basis and justification for grant requests for donor funds, the sources of which may in the future be repairments, private funds, donations of sponsors and patrons, assistance provided to Ukraine within the framework of international support. Ukraine's cultural heritage is not only our valuable spiritual heritage, but also opportunities for investing.