Complaint over restoration of shopping rows in Soligalich led to higher costs

The cost of restoring historic shopping arcades in Soligalich has doubled since work was forced to stop in 2023. The Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Kostroma Region intends to recover from the public organization whose appeal became the reason for the inspection, from 40 to 80 million rubles.

The wooden shopping rows of Soligalich are a monument of cultural heritage of federal significance and the only surviving historical complex of this type built of wood. Its preservation has been debated for decades. Since 1980, specialists have offered various restoration options, but the final project was approved only in 2019.

Documentation was prepared with the participation of certified restorers. The project passed historical and cultural expertise and consideration at the Scientific and Methodological Council under the Ministry of Culture. Experts have studied it twice before and after geological surveys. In both cases, the approach chosen was approved.

The organization started with the necessary license. Specialists began to disassemble a wooden log and a brick basement. The progress of the restoration was monitored by representatives of author’s supervision and construction control, who also had licenses from the Ministry of Culture.

However, in the spring of 2023, the work had to be suspended after the appeal of the Kostroma branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments to the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The authors of the statement expressed doubts about the quality of the restoration. At the same time, according to the Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites, representatives of the organization did not request project documentation, did not visit the facility and did not have specialized education or experience in restoration work.