While everyone is fascinated by the fate of the Shukhov Tower (demolished - not demolished), a completely barbaric renovation is quietly progressing in the Narkomfin building. The windows painted by Moisei Ginzubrg are replaced with double-glazed windows, the floors in the corridors are poured with concrete, and genuine radiators are cut down. Despite the renovation, restoration is planned. Recently, The Moscow Times, referring to the words of the current owner of the building, Alexander Senatorov, said that the author of the restoration project of the Narkomfin building would be “the young architect Nikolai Pereslegin,” but there, however, making a reservation that Pereslegin himself denies his involvement in the project (“… to this, that his students developed their own, rather vague, plans, but that's all”- the newspaper writes from the words of Pereslegin). We turned to Nikolai Pereslegin himself for a comment, and he told us about his position in relation to the Narkomfin house.
Nikolay Pereslegin, architect:
“I became aware of the work currently being carried out in the building of the People's Commissariat for Finance. I am fundamentally opposed. It's illegal. As far as I know, the work in progress has already been stopped by the Moscow City Heritage Inspectorate.
For a long time the process of restoration of the monument was hampered by property disputes. At the moment, they are finally close to resolution, and there is a real opportunity for a full-fledged scientific restoration. At the very least, it is strange that the owner, who had been waiting for restoration for many years, at the moment when from a legal point of view it became possible to carry it out, calls into question the fate of the restoration by illegal repair of the monument. I expressed this personally to Mr. Senatorov, to whom I have great respect, so it is easy for me to talk about it now.
Over the past almost ten years, many professionals have taken part in the fate of the People's Commissariat for Finance, prepared research, carried out analyzes - they tried to help preserve the monument. Moreover, not only Russian, but also foreign specialists showed concern and interest in this issue. Architects, scientists and historians of architecture have their say here - such people as Anke Zalivako, Clementine Cecil, Marina Khrustaleva, Anna Bronovitskaya, Natalia Dushkina, Alexey Ginzburg, Dmitry Shvidkovsky, Boris Pasternak, Andrey Batalov and many, many others. And these are the people without whom it is simply wrong and unethical to talk about the future fate of the building.
In my opinion, a large commission should be created, for example, under the Scientific and Methodological Council of the Moscow City Heritage Site, a newly created body headed by Andrei Batalov. Such a commission will be organized specifically to work on the project for the reconstruction of VDNKh, which will provide expert and public justification for all decisions taken. It would be wise to follow the same path with regard to the restoration of the Narkomfin building.
It is my deep conviction that a possible project for the restoration of the monument should be as open and public as possible. It is very important to involve both professionals and the public in the restoration process. After all, the People's Commissariat for Finance is more than just a house. It is an icon of its time, a whole world for many people. It’s strange not to remember this.”
The material was prepared by Alla Pavlikova
