RESTORATION THROUGH DEMOLUTION: THE OLDEST PLANETARIUM IN THE COUNTRY WAS DESTROYED IN PENZA

Representatives of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments announced this on social networks - they posted a photo of the ruins of the building in their community.

The scandal around the cultural monument erupted in December last year. Then the first deputy chairman of the government of the Penza region, Oleg Yagov, said that the historic building would be re-trumped, as the transformation of the planetarium for modern use was impossible with the preservation of the previous appearance.

‘The object will be demolished, its area will be enlarged, there will be a ground floor with a cafe, utility rooms and so on. The appearance will be completely restored from new high-quality wooden materials’, he said.

It was planned to spend more than 350 million rubles for the reconstruction from the consolidated budget. It was promised to be finished by 2023.

When a wave of public outrage arose, Oleg Yagov denied his previous words about the demolition and said that no one was going to destroy the building. Suitable structural elements (about 30%) will be restored and used for their intended purpose .The official assured that the wooden parts were damaged by insects and were had been crumbling for a long time. It was not safe to stay inside the building - it was in disrepair.

But contrary to the promises, the planetarium was destroyed. Local historians claim that it could have been saved in its original form. This is evidenced by the frame of the building. Elements that could have been partially replaced are visible under the building lining. Historians call the incident vandalism and intend to file a complaint with the higher authorities.