St. Petersburg defenders

• All-Russian Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments (Co-Chairmen of the St. Petersburg Branch - Alexander Margolis and Margarita Shtiglits)
• Public organization "Living City" (coordinator - Yulia Minutina)
• Center of Expertise ECOM (Director - Alexander Karpov)
• Public organization "Okhtinskaya arc" (activist - Elena Malysheva)
• Council of Moscow Region Initiative Groups (activist - Tatiana Kondratkova)
• Public organization "ERA" (leader - Alexey Yarema)

History

From the very beginning of the existence of the city, strict regulations were laid down as to how tall the building should be and how wide their arches should be. Deviations from the norm were immediately punished by legal proceedings and the requirement to rebuild or demolish the building ^[1] . The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was marked by the industrial revolution and the construction boom ^[1] , in which town-planning violations had already taken place, which had angered the public. The most famous example was the Zinger Company Building, which originally intended to build a skyscraper in the city, but received a ban due to high-altitude regulations. Despite this, the architecture of the building, which stands out sharply against the background of the background building, had a “flashy look” and, accordingly, caused a negative public reaction ^[1] . Soon other buildings in the modernist style М Mertens House, Wawelberg House and others began to appear in the city center. It is also customary to attribute the construction of the Admiralty Embankment, the Profitable House of the Latvian Lutheran Church, the House of the Officers' Corps, the New Passage, the Sheremetevsky Passage, and others ^[2] .

First Wave (Perestroika)

Demolition of historical monuments in the city center occurred during the USSR, but in the 80s the demolition began to attract the public due to the increasing intensity of the demolition of monuments, as well as the general liberalization of the Soviet regime in Perestroika , which allowed citizens to openly express their public opinion.

The first public city-organization was formed in 1986, it also included historians, archaeologists and expeditionary fraternities. ^[3] Saving the demolished Delvig's house in the fall of 1986, the young students, who later joined the Salvation Group, held a theatrical performance and rally at Vladimirskaya Square.

In 1987, when it became known that the building of the Angleterre Hotel was decided to be demolished, the city public came out in defense of the historical monument. Loud actions were organized by the Rescue Group for Historical and Cultural Monuments of Leningrad . Several days (from March 16 to March 18) a picket took place, the group was supported by many famous cultural figures. After the authorities demolished the building, a permanent picket was organized; a month later, there was a rally "Month of memory of Angleterra", which gathered about 2 thousand people ^[4] .

After the scandalous demolition of the hotel in 1987, dozens of other city-protective organizations began to register in the city, which produced self-published almanacs and magazines. ^[3] A wide public movement prompted the Leningrad Executive Committee to review the status of the historic center and create protection zones, and also attracted the attention of an international organization, UNESCO , which also decided to give the city center the status of a World Heritage Site . ^[3]

1990s and zero years

The situation changes drastically when the USSR collapses , and the economy of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) falls into decay and no buildings are actually built in the center for the first 10 years, and the need for city defenders disappears, but with the gradual recovery of the economy and investment climate in 2005–2008 under the governor V. Matvienko in St. Petersburg, there is a massive demolition of buildings in the historic center, as the government has embarked on lobbying business development in the city center, ignoring the fact that it threatens holistically historical buildings without elaboration of proper construction regulations and restrictions ^[5] . The barracks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (one of the oldest in Russia) and the sapper battalion ( Kirochnaya Street ), 5 houses on Nevsky Prospect , a building of the XVIII century and the interiors of the Chicherin house , several houses on ul. Vosstaniya and Liteyny Avenue , the house on Voznesensky Avenue , a number of buildings on the Petrogradskaya side , etc. Some of the demolished houses had the official status of architectural monuments . In the winter of 2008, the building of the Assay Chamber and the Assay School with outbuildings and a fence were completely destroyed (end 18 - early 19th century). In 2008, amendments to the legislation came into force, which, in effect, lifted the ban on the privatization of monuments of federal significance that had been in effect in Russia since 2002. This list would include 650 buildings on the federal list of guards ^[6] . Also, entire neighborhoods of historic buildings were destroyed. The most glaring examples of urban planning mistakes are: Elite residential building of Mont Blanc, Financier, two new buildings of the stock exchange, which grossly violate the high-altitude regulations, stand out sharply from the background buildings and violate the celestial line. Another vivid example was the Regent Hall building, which by its “dissonant” and screaming appearance spoiled the view of Vladimir Square ^[5] . The problem was reinforced by corruption, which allows the developer to build the desired buildings with the help of bribes, bypassing the existing restrictions ^[5] .

A number of new construction projects actively supported by the city administration and interested firms (for example, Okhta Center , formerly known as Gazprom City), renovation of existing architectural complexes ( New Holland ), the increasing volume of demolition of buildings of the center’s background buildings ( including the revealed historical and architectural monuments) ^{[7] [8]} and the emergence in the center of new buildings tearing ensembles and distorting species ^{[9] [10] [11]} , cause objections from the public and professional organizations. Increasingly, there were opinions that such actions could destroy the unique urban environment of the St. Petersburg center ^{[12] [13] [14]} . These phenomena are also of concern to the World Fund for Monuments Protection ^[15] and UNESCO ^{[9] [16]} . Brusselisation threatened the city.

Second Wave (Ohta Center)

The beginning of the merger and active speeches of city protection organizations can be called a public protest against the construction of the Okhta Center. This activity allowed the city defenders to declare themselves. The first major action of the city protection organizations was the March in Defense of St. Petersburg, which took place on September 8, 2007, where the Okhta Center became the main topic of the protests. The activeness of the city-defensive organizations of St. Petersburg coincided with an increase in the number of political opposition speeches after the refusal of the Yabloko and CEPR parties to register during the elections to the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg in 2007. ^[17] Later, the city defenders acted in close cooperation with representatives of opposition parties, such as Maxim Reznik (Yabloko), Alexey Kovalev (Fair Russia), Sergey Malkov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation).

After the governor of Poltavchenko came to power, the process of destruction of historic buildings slowed down significantly, but did not stop. This is due to the serious victory of the city defenders over the construction of the Okhta Center in 2011, and the revival at that time of numerous city protection organizations, like before the collapse of the USSR, which put more and more pressure on the courts , officials, investors and architectural studios every year. ^[18] After the events that led to the abandonment of the construction of the Okhta Center, KGIOP voluntarily left its chairman, Vera Dementieva, who at one time gave numerous permits for the demolition of historic buildings. ^[18] Also after the events of 2011, the process of crowding out famous architectural studios began. ^[18] A significant role in the preservation of historical monuments is now played by active criticism in the press and the Internet, formed and supported by the St. Petersburg public, and a number of local media actively cooperate with city protection organizations. ^[18] In January 2014, the city ​​defenders defended the right in court to receive from the KGIOP copies of historical and cultural expertise of buildings. ^[19] According to the beginning of 2014, city protection organizations are becoming quite an influential figure in the city, able to stop most new projects in the city center by challenging in court, organizing rallies or sabotaging scandals through media funds, as a result of which this has worsened the investment climate in the city . ^{[20] [21]} On the other hand, due to the strong pressure of city defenders, a new trend has emerged among architects to create projects in the neoclassical style. ^[22] On May 29, 2014, a new law came into force defining discordant objects in the center of St. Petersburg, including 77 buildings of modern and Soviet construction. In the future, it is planned to “neutralize” these objects or impose sanctions against their owners. ^{[23] The} new law provoked the indignation of the Union of Architects of St. Petersburg, which called the city defenders enemies of "urban architecture." ^[24] In June 2014, a law came into force, under which a large fines were imposed for violation of architectural and artistic regulations. ^[25]

• Pulkovo Observatory
• Ohta Center
• Club House "Art View House" along the Moika 102 Embankment