An unlikely alliance of artists, soccer hooligans, and area residents have seized part of a building on 8B Reitarska St. in Kyiv, in the architectural preservation area around one of Kyiv’s oldest landmarks: Saint Sophia Cathedral.
The activists claim to be protesting against a new housing development, the impending construction of which they say would violate UNESCO regulations banning new construction in the area. The activists also say they’re trying to stop the alleged eviction of an artists’ commune from the location. They say the artists were forced to leave after their rent payments were hugely increased.
The owners of the building, who have family ties with officials linked to corruption cases, deny trying to force the artists out and say that they only increased the rent for business reasons.
And in a separate twist, the building itself is subject to a freezing order by the prosecutor’s office as material evidence in an illegal privatization case.
‘Material Evidence’
Since 2016, the second and third floors of the building at 8B Reitarska Street were an “Educatorium” — a venue for art workshops, studios, a cafe and a gallery. On Aug. 4 it became “Material Evidence” — a squatting protest aimed at preserving the arts center, after the artists said they could not afford the new rent charge, reportedly raised by several-times by the building’s owners.
War veteran Nazarii Kravchenko is one of the organizers of the protest. Formerly a member of the Azov volunteer battalion, some of whose members have links to the far-right, Kravchenko fought for Mariupol in 2014. On returning to Kyiv, he met the Educatorium artistic community and grew fond of it.
“They organized a charity auction to buy prosthetics for the soldiers of the Armed Forces by selling paintings,” Kravchenko said. “I saw how busking musicians collect care packages for soldiers they know in Mariupol.”
Nazarii Kravchenko speaks with the Kyiv Post in front of 8B Reitarska Street in Kyiv on Aug. 13. The banner behind him reads “Reitarska community vs. raider scum.” (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Kravchenko, 29, is a former first deputy head of the National Corps, the far-right political party that formed around the Azov Civil Corps non-governmental organization and the Azov volunteer regiment.
Azov and National Corps have repeatedly rallied against controversial constructions in Kyiv, often setting off flares, smoke grenades, and using brute force to block building sites.
Kravchenko refuses to comment on why he quit the National Corps several months ago and said he was no longer associated with the party.
But having some experience in protesting against controversial construction projects, Kravchenko said he had started to see signs of a conflict brewing at 8B Reitarska Street. First, he said he saw around two hundred titushkas (hired thugs) on the street. He then guessed that a fire in a neighboring building was arson, aimed at skirting a ban on new construction in the area by framing it as a necessary “reconstruction” after a destructive blaze.
And when the artists of 8B Reitarska Street were allegedly forced to leave the building in June due to a massive rent hike, Kravchenko decided to help them. He started a squatting protest that he said would also deter arson and the subsequent construction of an office center or elite housing development with a view of St. Sophia’s Cathedral – a valuable feature.
Owning seized property
The company that owns the building is called Heorhiievskyi Residence LLC. Half of the company’s share capital is owned by Oleksandr Hlimbovskyi — the father-in-law of Roman Nasirov, the former head of the State Fiscal Service. Nasirov is currently undergoing trial in a corruption case.
The other half is owned by Oksana Guliaieva, the sister of Oles Dovgiy, a deputy and a former secretary of the Kyiv City Council from 2006-2010, under the notoriously corrupt and currently exiled mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi. Dovgiy was investigated for embezzling Kyiv city government funds, but the case was closed due to lack of evidence at the end of last year.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the 2,315-square-meter property owned by Heorhiievskyi Residence on 8B Reitarska Street was also unlawfully obtained by the Main Department of Communal Property, the executive body of Kyiv City Council, at an understated price — Hr 4.06 million ($146,397) lower than it was worth in 2007-2010.
The property was seized as material evidence, forbidding the owners from developing or selling it.
Guliaieva, 33, says she bought the “Heorhiievskyi residence” company along with property rights to the building from another party in 2014. By that logic, she maintains, the current owners don’t fall under the scope of the investigation. Guliaieva says she learned about the seizure by accident and had her lawyers appeal against the decision. The Kyiv Appeals Court upheld the freezing order, but allowed the owners to continue to use the property, which includes renting it out.
Guliaieva says that she manages “Heorhiievskyi residence” and its property on 8B Reitarska Street. She also denies the speculation that she is just a front for her brother’s business, calling herself a businesswoman and philanthropist.
Oksana Guliaieva speaks with the Kyiv Post at the “Transformer” cultural and educational center in Kyiv on Aug. 15. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Rent Rising
Guliaieva describes her company’s renting the building to the artistic community of Educatorium as a type of social assistance. From 2016, the rent was Hr 85 ($3.06) per square meter per month, she says — a subsidized price to help develop an art cluster in the area.
However, according to Guliaieva, the company subsequently had to increase the rent to pay for an exterior renovation. She says she asked the artists how much more they could put in to help the owners with renovation through Leonid Komskyi — the gallery organizer with whom she signed the rent contract.
Komskyi, 54, agrees the initial rent price was low but denies there was any talk about assistance or subsidized pricing. He says the rooms were in poor condition, and the rent agreement was made on mutually beneficial terms.
Komskyi renovated the rooms and started subletting them to artists and creative businesses for a “slightly” higher price to cover administrative costs. Guliaieva says subletting was forbidden by the contract and she didn’t know about it. Komskyi denies that claim.
According to Komskyi, Guliaieva did not negotiate a new rent level but set a minimum price at Hr 373 ($13.45) per square meter — about 30 percent lower than the rent for business offices in central Kyiv. Komskyi replied that the cultural institution cannot afford such rent and that they will probably leave.
After that, according to the artists, a representative of the “Heorhiievskyi residence” approached each of Komskyi’s subtenants to announce that they would now pay rent directly to the owners. Guliaieva denies this had happened.
However, three subtenants have confirmed to the Kyiv Post that a representative of the owner contacted them and set an individual rent charge for each tenant, ranging from Hr 350 to Hr 500 per square meter.
Artists produce engravings at a printing press inside 8B Reitarska Street in Kyiv on Aug. 13. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Impasse
With the artists about to leave, Nazarii Kravchenko persuaded them to protest. They formed an organizing committee consisting of about 20 people: the artists, area residents, Kravchenko, and his friends from the “ultras” organization of soccer hooligans. They rebranded the community with the title “Material Evidence” to reflect the legal status of the building.
Material Evidence functions in much the same way Educatorium did: the artists hang out and talk in the cafe, create art in their workshops, organize exhibitions and concerts, and teach children different crafts.
However, the conflict also brought in some new people and measures to protect the community. These are mostly Kravchenko’s friends from the Kyiv Dynamo ultras, the Azov regiment, some area residents, and other volunteers. They organize daily watch duties and rapid response groups in the case of an attack.
“We’re here just to protect,” Kravchenko said, “and in no way to influence the (artistic) processes that are happening here. We’re here to help in the way we can.”
Guliaieva says her company doesn’t plan to take the building back by force, or even call the police. She says she doesn’t want to rush any developments.
“I see only two ways how to act: the first is the negotiating table, and second is a legal way. I’m not ready for any other plan of action,” says Guliaieva.
Material Evidence activists emphasize that their protest is not political and that none of them have any political affiliation. However, they have demanded that the government protect the building and help develop the art cluster in the area.
