As you know, the theme of the World Expo 2010 taking place in Shanghai now sounds like "Better City - Better Life" and directly reflects the desire of the world community to make megacities more comfortable to live in, improve their ecology and quality of living environment. Historical and cultural heritage is recognized as one of the most important resources for urban development. In mid-May, within the framework of the exhibition, an international forum was held on the topic of historical cities, and the current round table is an attempt to analyze how the world experience presented in Shanghai is applicable in Russian conditions. In addition, following the results of EXPO-2010, a special declaration will be signed, a kind of urban development program for the near future, and Russian scientists intend to contribute to it. The main theses of our experts will form the basis of the national report - it was this document that became the main subject of discussion at the round table.
Perhaps it is no secret to anyone that today the prosperous countries of the world are significantly ahead of Russia in the preservation and prudent exploitation of historical monuments. It is indicative, at least, that in the West, heritage sites have long been no longer viewed as "things in themselves" that can only be museumified. On the contrary, heritage becomes an effective financial asset capable of generating considerable profits without contradicting the idea of preserving national cultural identity. Russia, as noted by one of the authors of the report, Sergei Zhuravlev, head of the Russian House of the Future project, still exists in the old Soviet paradigm and considers monuments to be real value, for which the state is more than 90 percent responsible. Meanwhile, for the state, which until now was practically the only guardian of thousands of monuments (and their number is constantly growing!), This burden is unbearable, and economically unsupported monuments are doomed today, Sergei Zhuravlev is sure.
The only alternative to the state maintenance of cultural objects in Russia today is to attract private investors to their restoration, but the state has practically no levers of control over the actions of the latter, and as a result, as ECOS member Alexei Klimenko noted, we get “objects of pseudo-cultural heritage” or, to put it simply, dummies that fill historic cities. All other economic models, for example, privatization with encumbrances, tourism or the sale of a brand, which are successfully implemented in the West, categorically do not work in Russia. Valentin Manturov, director of the National Center for Heritage Trusteeship, believes that in such a situation, our country needs to adopt the system of the so-called. trust management of monuments - it will allow, without changing the form of ownership of monuments, to relieve the state of the burden of their maintenance. It is important that in this case the population itself will be able to participate in the preservation of the national heritage, as is the case in the USA, England and other countries where monuments are actively involved in the activities of the urban community.
However, it is clear that one should start not with the question of who and how in Russia is able to maintain monuments, but with the legislation regulating the issues of heritage protection. Indeed, today not only public figures (whose role is often discredited altogether), but often professionals are excluded from the decision-making process on the restoration and use of cultural objects. As a disappointing example, the architect Sergei Sena cited Volgograd, where, according to him, the decision to restore or reconstruct an object is actually taken by local officials solely, as they say, “according to concepts”, and not on the basis of the law. In other words, while the existing system of protection of monuments in Russia does not actually work.
What can our country offer and advise the world community in such a bleak situation? Alas, practically nothing. And, probably, that is why, says the professor of the Moscow State University. MV Lomonosov Moscow State University Yuri Mazurov, our pavilion for the first time in many years ignored the theme of the richest national cultural heritage. In this sense, Russia at "EXPO 2010" stayed away from the main trends, because most of the participating countries, on the contrary, focused on national monuments, and by this concept they mean not only individual buildings, but also entire urban areas, as well as natural landscapes.
The true historical appearance of cities and the desire of Western countries to preserve and increase it at all costs are called "modern historicism", and it is precisely this that is today positioned as the basis and guarantee of sustainable development of megalopolises. China itself is actively listening to this doctrine - in recent years, it has been increasingly submitting applications for the inclusion of its monuments in the UNESCO World Heritage List. For comparison, in our country this list, on the contrary, is losing weight right before our eyes: for example, the historical center of St. Petersburg is under threat of exclusion. However, the participants in the discussion also recalled that in some cities today, on the contrary, the opposite trends are outlined - for example, projects for the revival of the historical environment are being implemented in Torzhok, where monuments are being restored on the basis of a trust form of government, and in the Republic of Sakha, where a national cultural center is being built. Olonkho.
Experts believe that the main problem is the lack of a single concept and an integral system of heritage protection in the country, without which it is very difficult for us to present anything to the progressive world. The exhibition in Shanghai only once again revealed this, and with all the mercilessness. And in this sense, the outcome of "EXPO-2010", probably, should be recognized as positive: after all, qualitative changes are impossible until you dare to admit all your shortcomings.
