I. Metshin about the restored shops of Kurmanaev: “This is a sincere patriotism to the city”

(KZN.RU, January 31, Alena Miroshnichenko). Today, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, together with Tatiana Prokofieva, the chief architect of the city, and media representatives visited a number of historic sites that are being restored. The participants of the press tour examined the shops of the merchant Kurmanaev (Profsoyuznaya Street, №1/8), the stalls of the “Khlebny Bazar” (Profsoyuznaya Street, №10/14, 12, 14, 16) and the house of Peter Lisitsyn – Mikhail Emelin (Pushkin Street, №10). The restoration work is at the final stage in most buildings.

The cultural heritage site, a two-story building on Profsoyuznaya Street, №1/8, was built in 1872. The shops of the Kazan merchant Kurmanaev were located there. In the XIX century, it was a place of lively trade. In 1961, the building was rebuilt for the cinema “Sputnik”, which worked until the end of the twentieth century. By the beginning of the restoration in 2012, only one wall remained in its original form, said Svetlana Mavleeva, a project architect. Now the work on the site is at the finish line, the readiness is 90%, and finishing works are underway. The plans of the contractor and the owner of the building OOO “Vostok-S” are to accomplish the landscaping of the adjacent territory and the artistic lighting of the building.

“We carefully disassembled the preserved wall brick by brick, numbered each one, cleaned the plaster and put it together again. The uniqueness of the object is also in the fact that we not only strengthened the foundation and made a concrete belt, but also created an underground parking lot for 15 cars”, said Svetlana Mavleeva.

“In 2012, when we started to work on the historical center, we were glad to any preservation of the façade and the historical building. This object has passed from hand to hand for a long time. Thanks to the company that found the funds and forces. In our memory, the cinema “Sputnik” is a box with old movie posters. The inside has always been boring and dull, too. Not the best memories. But today, we have such a great recreated cultural heritage site next to the Kremlin, in the very heart of the city!” admired Ilsur Metshin.

The building should acquire its original appearance by the fourth quarter of this year. It will house a shopping and office center with an attic and a one-story annex with parking on the basement floor. There are shops, a restaurant and office space inside.

“This is a rare sincere patriotism towards the city. This object is made with a heart, with love, with respect to the city history. Even better than we could have imagined. I couldn’t have thought how to create almost a masterpiece of the historical heritage of Kazan from the object of cultural heritage, which during the Soviet period literally became a shed, not to mention the period when it was abandoned. No words! Thanks to architects who are so fond of Kazan, concerned members of the public who raised this issue in due time. Thanks to our President Rustam Minnikhanov, who together with us continues to walk around Kazan with inspections and also to take appropriate decisions and allocate funds”, marked I. Metshin.

Further, the journalists, together with the chief architect of Kazan, visited the complex “Khlebny Bazar” on Profsoyuznaya Street and the house of Peter Lisitsyn – Mikhail Emelin on Pushkin Street, in the wing of which Fyodor Chaliapin was born in 1873.

The stalls of the Khlebny Bazar, dating back to the XVII-XIX centuries, are objects of cultural heritage of local importance. Buildings №10/14, 12, 14 and 16 on Profsoyuznaya Street were an architectural ensemble of Khlebnaya Square and occupied a whole city block. The largest building of Khlebnaya Square is a two-story building that was leased by separate premises.

Today, the functionality of the building is partially restored, cafes and shops are located there. One of the owners of the complex, the development company “Osnova”, began restoration work in 2010. Eduard Koltun, the director of the organization, expects to complete the restoration of the complex in a year and a half.

The house №10 on Pushkin street was built in 1860 for the iron merchant Pavel Lisitsin. Today the building has the status of a monument of regional importance. The house had a brick wing in the yard for renting; there Fyodor Chaliapin was born on February 13, 1873. Unfortunately, it has not been preserved. Later, there was a fish-trading household, warehouses, offices, a hotel, and various small institutions. Today, the restoration work is still ongoing. The most interesting part of the building is the patio, decorated with old wooden houses. Guests can see antique-styled windows on the walls of the yard, and to listen to works performed by the famous Russian bass in the summer.

“It was completely ruined. The foundation of the building was destroyed, for more than 10 years it stood without a roof, and the walls almost completely collapsed to the ground floor. Of course, first of all, we did everything to stop the further destruction of the object. After the emergency work, we trimmed the inner yard with wood. This is the false wall of the neighboring building. It is lined with boards from old houses brought from the Vologda region, they are more than 100 years old. That way we want to restore the atmosphere of antiquity. A restaurant and office premises will be located on the first floor”, said Dmitry Ovechkin, the CEO of the “UC Kapital Plus”, which owns the building.

Tatiana Prokofieva, the chief architect of Kazan, noted that work on the restoration and reconstruction of historic buildings in the city will continue. For today, the register of cultural heritage objects in total consists of 563 objects across Kazan, of which 119 are of federal significance, 376 are regional, and 68 are local.