Ancient temples turned into cowsheds and grain warehouses in Tatarstan — RealnoeVremya.com

The information that architectural monuments have been turned into grain warehouses and barns in the Spassky district of Tatarstan in the villages of Tankeyevka and Shcherbet was transmitted to the district prosecutor’s office for the organization of an inspection. Ruslan Galiyev, senior assistant for media interaction, told Realnoe Vremya about it.

Photo: t.me/arhitekturasi

The message that the former temples of the Spassky district of the republic are used as warehouses and stables appeared in the Artitekturasy telegram channel. Activists sent a statement to the Tatarstan Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects.

“The cases are flagrant and unacceptable. Churches were closed during the Soviet years. The villages where they were erected are sparsely populated, but even that does not give the right to use the ancient temples in this way. Not to mention that cultural heritage objects are protected by law. We are awaiting state intervention,” the channel said in the statement.

The test is under the control of the prosecution.

“It is important that the situation is resolved quickly and without conflict”

“I don’t run the channel alone, Adel helps me. She travels through the regions of Tatarstan, photographing churches, destroyed and dilapidated mosques. She recently returned from such a trip to the Spassky district, she published a selection with these photos. When I saw this, I decided to write a request to the Tatarstan Committee for the Protection of Objects of Cultural Heritage, since these churches, where the attic and animals are located, are included in the list of objects of the cultural heritage,” local Kazan historian and blogger Yan Gordeev told Realnoe Vremya.

When these images were first published, the news went unnoticed, he complained. Given the enormous work done in the republic to maintain a balance of interests of all faiths, such use of even inactive churches can be viewed ambiguously.

“Here some people, farmers, do that. Most likely, in this case, it was done thoughtlessly, without malicious intent. Now they say the animals could have come on their own, running away from the heat — I don’t know. In any case, it is important that the situation is resolved quickly and without conflict, so that the State intervenes, and at least, these objects must be preserved”, explains the local historian.

He did not name the farm that may have been involved in these situations. He only specified that the suspicions fell on a small farm in the neighborhood. The investigation into the incident is continuing.

Tatyana Leukhina

Tatarstan

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