The administration of Gelendzhik has finally answered environmentalists' questions about the "dacha of the Patriarch". Although they did not ask her, but personally the President of Russia. On July 5, at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, the director of the Russian branch of Greenpeace Russia, Sergey Tsyplenkov, handed over a letter to Dmitry Medvedev. It asked very uncomfortable questions about the construction of the residence of the patriarchy, but instead of answering on the merits, the officials once again lied. Earlier, environmentalists sent an open appeal to Patriarch Kirill, but their message remained unanswered. AT recent times the spiritual power is kept silent, and the executive power is puffed up for it. And this is logical: the Moscow Patriarchate acts as the customer of the construction, the foreman is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Enterprise for the supply of products" of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

In October 2003, the late Patriarch Alexy asked the then head of Gelendzhik, Sergei Ozerov, for land for his residence. Local authorities prepared a land management file, and in 2004 the Kuban vice-governor Remezkov signed an order to approve a plot of 1.8 hectares. It was located in one of the most beautiful places on the Black Sea coast - in the village of Divnomorskoye, near Gelendzhik. True, no one took into account that at that time there was at least one dissenter in Gelendzhik, businessman and lawyer Zufar Achilov. He delved into the essence of the issue and addressed in writing to President Putin and Prosecutor General Ustinov: they say that the land was provided to the church in the forests of the first, most protected group and it belongs to the forest fund. "The Land Code allows these territories to be withdrawn only for the fulfillment of Russia's international obligations or for the placement of objects state significance- says Zufar Achilov. - In order to build there, it was necessary to officially transfer land from one category to another. That's what I wrote to Moscow about."

Meanwhile, only the Government of the Russian Federation can transfer forest fund lands to another category, and even then only after a positive conclusion from the state environmental review. But these procedures have not been carried out. But Zufar Achilov did not calm down. In his next appeal addressed to the Prosecutor General, he pointed out that the ROC is not a state structure and therefore, according to the law, it must buy land at auction, and not receive it from the state for free. True, the Gelendzhik prosecutor's office answered in the same way: "There are no grounds for taking prosecutorial response measures."
Pitsunda pines have been growing on this territory for centuries. There are few of these ancient trees left in nature; it is no coincidence that they are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. The world's largest massif of Pitsunda pine is located here, near the village of Divnomorskoye. But with the beginning of the construction of the Orthodox residence, the pines began to rapidly disappear. “The builders immediately took away the cut down trees, and if it didn’t work out, they burned them,” says Dmitry Shevchenko from the environmental watch for North Caucasus". - For one felled pine tree, it is supposed to pay compensation, which can amount to several hundred thousand rubles. And here it seems like it was burned - and you don’t have to pay anything. In general, they saved on construction as best they could."
In the summer of 2009, I personally saw burnt and fallen trees around the "Patriarch's dacha". Despite the numerous protests of environmentalists and the publications of Novaya Gazeta, the scorched earth tactics, apparently, are being carried out even now. On September 23, another fire broke out in the "dacha" area.
By law, the Gelendzhik authorities were obliged to hold public hearings so that citizens could comment on the draft. In fact, the officials turned everything upside down. First, a three-story building was built in the forest, and without a state environmental review. And only then, in the summer of 2009, hearings were held. This is a gross violation of the laws "On Environmental Protection" and "On Ecological Expertise". But the engineer of the contracting firm Putevi stated at the hearing that there had been no violations. Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchy and the Office of the President's Affairs generally ignored this event. No one answered our publication about the mass destruction of nature for the construction of an Orthodox residence (see Novaya Gazeta, No. 69 of 01.07.09).
The executive power, together with the Russian Orthodox Church, held this position until February 2011. And only when information about illegal construction actively spread throughout the Russian blogosphere did the synodal information department of the Moscow Patriarchate circulate an official statement. It turns out that there is no patriarch's dacha: "a church-administrative spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church is being built near Gelendzhik." Perhaps. But here are the facts.
On August 18, 2004, the administration of the Krasnodar Territory issued Decree No. 964-r "On preliminary approval of the Orthodox religious organization of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the location of the summer residence of the Moscow Patriarchate." Note that this is a summer residence. Later, on November 24, 2004, the Prosecutor's Office of Gelendzhik clarified in its letter that the regional administration was busy with "accommodating the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'." As you can see, the information about the "dacha of the Patriarch" has a very real foundation.
Among other things, the synodal information department stated: "During the construction of the building, the requirements of all services, including environmental ones, were observed. No mass felling of trees was carried out." But this statement is refuted by satellite images. In the picture of 2005, this land plot is completely covered with pine trees, and in the picture of 2010, you can see a building with a cleared area around. According to the "Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus", by 2010 the builders of the residence destroyed about two hectares of the Red Book forest, today the cut area covers almost 10 hectares. "In its statement, the Patriarchate refers to the act of Rosprirodnadzor, according to which there were no cuttings," says Ecowatchta coordinator Andrei Rudomakha. "But this act was drawn up in December 2010, that is, several years after the mass felling." According to Article 260 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, mass felling of green spaces is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years. Moreover, in accordance with Article 77 of the Law "On Environmental Protection", the ROC must assess the damage caused and compensate it to the state.
As for the mentioned statement of the Moscow Patriarchate, this fragment of it is also interesting: "The construction of the church-administrative spiritual center is being carried out at the expense of the Moscow Patriarchate without involving state budgetary funds of any level." But there is a resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory dated September 28, 2005 No. 1702-p, which refers to the allocation of fifteen million rubles from the regional budget for the construction of a "spiritual and cultural center in the village of Divnomorsky."
Gathering these violations together, on February 25, 2011, Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus sent an open letter to Patriarch Kirill. There is still no answer. The extent to which the ROC is ready for dialogue with civil society can also be judged by the June incident. A group of activists from Moscow, Krasnodar and Gelendzhik marched past the patriarchal residence in defense of the stolen Black Sea coast. As a result, the police detained Kirill Goncharov, leader of the youth wing of the Yabloko party, Sergei Menzheritsky, coordinator of the Open Coast movement, and Konstantin Andramonov, an Ecowatch activist. Goncharov and Menzheritsky, by decision of the justice of the peace, went under arrest. The ROC, of ​​course, was silent. “I think this residence is directly related to the construction of the ‘Putin’s Palace’ at Cape Idokopas,” says Suren Gazaryan, a civic activist, candidate of biological sciences. Office of the president's affairs. The point is in the general ideology of construction - in contempt for the protection of nature and the interests of citizens."
The letter, which the leader of Greenpeace Russia Sergey Tsyplenkov passed to Medvedev, has only now been answered by the first vice-mayor of Gelendzhik Vyacheslav Markov. He reports that the site under the residence of the patriarch "is classified as land" land settlements", therefore, the provisions of the Forest Code do not apply to it. Moreover, ordinary citizens, which means the Orthodox flock, are not allowed to walk there, but fences can be put up. But there is a section on the Rosreestr website rosreestr.ru ". To see the "patriarchal" site, you need to dial the cadastral number 23:40:0000000:388. A window appears with official information: the site is located in the Gelendzhik forestry, intended "for religious activities", but "without the right to cut down forest plantations." If you believe Rosreestr, then it turns out that the Gelendzhik vice-mayor is hiding the truth.
"NOVAYA GAZETA", October 19, 2011
In the photo: Space image of the territory where the "Spiritual and Cultural Center of the Moscow Patriarchy" was subsequently built (2005, Digital Globe service)

1. - 02/23/2012, 13:45 goats on the left side.
   
   AT Russian Orthodox Church denied reports by a number of media about the construction of a dacha of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' near Gelendzhik Kirill . "Since 2005, construction has been underway near Gelendzhik of the church-administrative spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church in southern Russia, along with existing centers in Moscow and St. "Interfax-Religion" . It notes that the Russian Church was prompted to make a corresponding statement by rumors published in some media and blogs that a “dacha of the Patriarch” was being built near the village of Praskoveevka in the Gelendzhik region in the Krasnodar Territory, and its construction was being carried out with violations.The Information Department reported that a meeting room will be located on the territory of the spiritual center Holy Synod, premises for the stay of members of the Synod, administrative and managerial services of the Moscow Patriarchate. In addition, work rooms, conference rooms, a press center, etc. will be equipped in the center.Along with the function of church administration, the center will also be entrusted with representative functions: receiving primates and delegations of other local Churches, holding official meetings. Another task of the future center is educational work with children and youth, holding meetings with the public and creative intelligentsia. An Orthodox church will also be opened at the center."During the construction of the building, the requirements of all services, including environmental protection, were observed. No mass felling of trees was carried out. This is confirmed, in particular, by the act of inspecting the territory by the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources dated December 6, 2010," the statement emphasizes.In addition, the project to improve the territory of the center provides for the planting of several hundred trees. At the same time, the territory of the center "does not and cannot block free access to the sea coast, since the center is located at an altitude of 60 meters above sea level," the Moscow Patriarchate said.The customer of the construction is the Patriarchy, the executor is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Enterprise for the supply of products of the Presidential Administration Russian Federation", carrying out commercial activities in accordance with its charter. The Serbian company "Putevi" is the general contractor for the construction.The construction of the church-administrative spiritual center is carried out at the expense of the patriarchy without the involvement of state budgetary funds of any level, the document says.Recall that the question of the legality of the construction of an object under the conditional name "Patriarch's Dacha" on the territory of the state forest fund environmentalists raised . According to information radio "Freedom", activists "Environmental Watch" through the North Caucasus, they managed to penetrate the territory of the facility located north of the village of Divnomorskoye. As a result of an environmental inspection, the "greens" discovered illegal construction there, owned by the Moscow Patriarchate.According to Dmitry Shevchenko, an ecologist from Krasnodar, at least 10 hectares of a unique forest where Pitsunda pine, which is protected by law, grows, is surrounded by a 3-meter fence. Having made their way inside, ecologists discovered "a strange, pretentious building - either a mansion, or a temple," crowned with a dome with a cross. A man came out of the temple-mansion and "in broken Russian" asked the ecologists to leave this private territory.According to Shevchenko, presumably the customer and the main sponsor of the construction of the Patriarch's Dacha is the Enterprise for the Supply of Products of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, and the Russian-Serbian company Putevi is the contractor.Andrey Rudomakha, an activist of Ecological Watch for the North Caucasus, said that the fact that the VIP object was located on the territory of the State Forest Fund was confirmed by the official response of the Department of Rosprirodnadzor for the Krasnodar Territory to Ecological Watch. But the official department did not take any measures to suspend the construction of the facility."This, along with such objects as Putin's dacha on Praskoveevka, as the planned state dacha on Utrish, is an object for which the state control scheme does not work. It is actually out of control," Rudomakha said.It is always difficult, but not hopeless, to fight illegal construction in a nature conservation area, when influential Kremlin structures act as customers of the facility, says Ivan Blokov, director of programs at Greenpeace Russia. In his opinion, this may take several years and end with an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. According to the environmentalist, in connection with the upcoming elections, the authorities will now be more careful "with the adoption of such voluntaristic decisions and turning a blind eye to the destruction of nature."According to North Caucasian environmentalists, in early February 2011, the All-Russian public movement "Open Coast" addressed an open letter to Patriarch Kirill, in which he spoke about the problems that arose in connection with the construction of his personal residence. The movement invited the ROC to enter into a constructive dialogue with the public to resolve them.Last year, the media reported that in the suburbs near the village of Peredelki, which is located next to the famous Peredelkino writers' dachas, they are also building cottage for the Patriarch, cutting down the reserved forest. News NEWSru.com:: Not the dacha of the Patriarch, but the spiritual center is being built near Gelendzhik, the Russian Orthodox Church emphasizes

To Putin in swimming trunks

The Black Sea coast is turning from a national treasure into the property of high-ranking officials, oligarchs and church hierarchs.

The holiday season has opened on the Black Sea. The authorities again urge Russians to show patriotism and choose domestic beaches instead of Egypt and Turkey. In fact, the Black Sea land for recreation of the average Russian is less and less. A plot on the coast becomes an attribute of chic style, like a flasher on a car. Proximity to the sea determines the social status: the closer the estate is to the water, the higher this status. Naturally, precious plots are recorded in the name of relatives or figureheads. And the Black Sea coast has turned into a conglomerate of quiet places, the names of the owners of which are not customary to advertise. Gelendzhik is just one of those places.

Like the Prime Minister in the bosom

A separate power line is stretched to the "Putin's dacha", as it is popularly called, so you can find the building by the supports. They go along the highway, through the mountains and lead to the tiny farm Praskoveevka on the Black Sea coast. Previously, a dirt road led to the farm, but now it is an asphalt road with a European concrete roadside. The entrance to the dacha is through an iron bridge covered with a concrete block, a barrier and prohibition signs. Behind the bridge is a military truck, behind it is a row of wagons of unknown purpose. We drive past the bridge, to the beach, but as if in the zone: on the way there are bushes in barbed wire. In the same "thorn" there is a blind brick fence, above which there are bars with surveillance cameras and sensors. Behind the fence - three mansions, in connection with which the locals mention the former director of the FSB, secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev. Officially, it is called a sports complex. They say that 100 meters from the last house to the sea, in the mountain, there is an entrance to the tunnel leading to the dacha. But you can't see anything through the trees.

If you go to the beach and look to the right, you will see the famous Sail Rock. On the left, the passage along the coast is prohibited - concrete blocks lie behind the construction fence, a small pier with a pile driver is above the water. You can’t swim either: all around are signs “Technically protected zone! Swimming is prohibited! ”, Buoys lined up in a row on an iron cable in the water. A solid coastal strip fence is being erected here, which will very soon protrude into the sea by 40 meters. The construction customer is the FSB, which is indicated on the plate attached to the fence.

I'm trying to rent a boat from the locals, but they brush it off: "Are you out of your mind?!" You have to swim to "Putin". I go around the buoys and row along the shore. At the top of the mountain is a tower with a video camera and a spinning locator. On the horizon is a boat, obviously not a fishing boat. I need to go to Cape Idokopas, where a dacha is being built. Having moved 200 meters away from the FSB fence, I swim up to the shore and crawl in the water for a long time, clinging to the algae with my hands and trying to keep my head as low as possible. When the fence is out of sight, I go ashore. The mountains here are tall and almost sheer. Nevertheless, the same “thorn” is at the top. Everything around seemed to die. After a couple of kilometers, a small rock blocks the path, then another one. And only then does a high coastal platform built from huge boulders appear. There are a couple of cargo containers and a grader on the site. In the mountain - the exit from the tunnel. There is a rubber pipe suspended on a cable. A low rumble comes, apparently, from her. The tunnel is wide, the passenger car will pass freely. I swim again, but this time the water is icy - a deep place was chosen for construction so that a boat could approach. Four years ago, when construction began, the object was officially called the "Children's Year-Round Sports and Health Camp." This is a branch of the health-improving complex "Dagomys" of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

I try to hide behind the boulders, but one of the builders has already noticed me. I climb onto the platform and say honestly that I am a journalist. He warns: "Do not swim to the beach, otherwise the security forces (Federal Security Service, FSO. - E.T.) will detain you." You can’t see the dacha from the water - sail at least 100 meters, at least 200. But a staircase leads up the mountain behind high green gates with a gate in barbed wire.

I sail to the "Putin" beach, stretch out on small pebbles and wave to the guys in sports shorts. These are builders. They say that earlier it was forbidden to leave the construction site. Once, several people ran out to the village for food, but the guards caught them and handed them over to the police, after which the builders were given three days of arrest - sort of like petty hooliganism. By a strange coincidence, after Putin from president turned into prime minister, the situation became more democratic - you can go out and go in by presenting your passport.

The dacha itself consists of four floors, two of them underground. It is built without a single brick - everything is made of monolithic concrete. “There is so much concrete there that Gelendzhik can be rebuilt. Where does such money come from? - surprised one of the builders. A monolithic wall six and a half kilometers long is being built from the same concrete to strengthen the mountain slopes. And if they lay a road, then "the mountains are cut down in figs." In fact, Putin appeared here. “One time he walked and greeted us,” says an oriental-looking boy.

On way back in Praskoveevka I admire the setting sun. I would like to believe that life changes for the better if a mere mortal can still sunbathe on the "Putin's" beach, even if he sets a personal record in swimming.

Patriarchal works

The summer residence of the patriarch is a kind of symbol of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church with the state: the construction customer is the Moscow Patriarchate, and the contractor is the enterprise for the supply of products of the administration of the President of the Russian Federation. Construction is taking place on the seashore between the village of Dzhankhot and the village of Divnomorskoye. On the forest road, a sign makes you think about higher powers: “No entry! Armed guard! I enter the construction site. In addition to Central Asian guest workers, the object is being built by Moldovans, and the contractor is the Serbian company Putevi.

The concrete frame of the three-story building is already ready. Seeing us, guest workers hide on the first floor. I overtake and ask: “What are you building?” They are sure that they are building a monastery.

Back in October 2003, the late Patriarch Alexy asked the then head of Gelendzhik Ozerov for land for his residence. Local authorities prepared a land management file, and in 2004 the Kuban vice-governor Remezkov signed an order to approve a plot of 1.8 hectares. Representatives of the local community informed President Putin and Prosecutor General Ustinov that the site was allocated in the forests of the first, most protected group. The Land Code allows these territories to be withdrawn only for the fulfillment of international obligations of the Russian Federation or the placement of objects of national importance. Human rights activists also pointed out that only the Russian government can transfer the forest fund lands to another category and only after the state ecological expertise, and, according to their information, none of this was done. In another appeal, it was said that the ROC is not a state structure and therefore, according to the law, it must buy these lands at auction, and not receive them for free. However, the prosecutor's office answered the same thing: there were no violations. So under Cyril, construction is in full swing.

A foreman, Serb Georgy Popovich, appears on the site. In broken Russian, he says that there is a cliff 40 meters high near the sea. The builders proposed to make an elevator, but the church leaders wished to go down to the water along the path, which now needs to be cut through the rocks. You can understand them, here is really heavenly air - one of the few places in the world where Pitsunda pines grow, listed in the Red Book of Russia. True, along the road leading to the residence, trees were felled and burned in places. But there is a memorial stone in honor of the construction, consecrated by the late Patriarch Alexy.

For one destroyed pine tree, builders must pay compensation up to 400 thousand rubles, - says my fellow traveler Dmitry Shevchenko from the public organization Environmental Watch in the North Caucasus. - Therefore, usually hemp and cut down trees are immediately taken away. Burning is also a way not to pay compensation and save on construction.

I'm going to Gelendzhik, to public hearings on the impact of the church residence on environment. The Gelendzhik administration is obliged by law to organize them. In a half-empty hall, Putevi engineer Erich Dayan says from the podium that there are no environmental violations. Dmitry Shevchenko rises from his seat:

We are present at the farce. Everything is already built, so what are we discussing? And how could a three-story building come into being without an environmental impact assessment?

There were no representatives of the Moscow Patriarchy and the presidential administration at the hearings, the deputy head of the city Vyacheslav Markov (sitting on the presidium) takes the rap for everyone. How much money is spent on construction and how much it costs - Markov does not allow asking these questions, explaining that today we are talking only about ecology. There is also a local archpriest Vladimir Sazonov in the hall, but officially he is not from the patriarchate, but on his own. An interesting event came out: first they harmed nature, and now they asked the public if it was possible to harm?

To places of financial glory

Gelendzhik stretched along the mountain, on which the name of the city is laid out in large white letters, like in Hollywood. In addition to Putin and Kirill, the names of the former Minister of Defense Grachev, Gref, Gryzlov, Zhirinovsky, Kudrin, Chernomyrdin and Shoigu are heard here. Gelendzhik also includes seven resort villages where you can conduct excursions - for example, "in Gref's places." After all, in the village of Divnomorskoye, the mother-in-law was noted German Gref, Tatyana Vasilievna Golovina. Previously, she worked as a housekeeper at the local Solnechny boarding house. In 2004, the eldest daughter Yana married Gref, and Tatyana Vasilievna immediately became the general director of the Divnomorsky sanatorium "Blue Dal".

Things with mother-in-law Gref did not always go smoothly. In September 2007, when the son-in-law left the government and had not yet become the president of Sberbank, Tatyana Golovina was "left" from the sanatorium by the people of the governor of the Saratov region Pavel Ipatov, who were related to the Balakovo nuclear power plant. Now the daughter of the Saratov governor, Anna Ipatova, has appeared on the board of directors of the sanatorium. But Tatyana Golovina became the director of the Gelendzhik sanatorium "Rus". This facility is owned by a subsidiary of the state-owned Transneft.

Right next to the Golubaya Dal sanatorium is the refuge of Alexei Kochetov, president and co-owner of the Ochakovo brewing company. This is a five-story castle with a turret, an antique tiled roof and a swimming pool in the courtyard. The natural stream on the territory of the shelter was converted into a waterfall, palm trees and other exotic plants were bought for more than 30 million rubles. The house is not registered to Kochetov himself, but to his 73-year-old father. There is a car with a guard on duty in the yard, who gets in the way as soon as I want to enter the open gate. The patriarch's dacha is two steps away from here.

In Gelendzhik, three mansions under construction, popularly designated by the abbreviation GKSH, from the names of Gref, Kudrin and Shoigu, have become a landmark. The builders call the houses "general's". However, popular rumor may be wrong, because houses can be recorded on anyone. The area here is excellent - in fact, the embankment. Nearby is a magnificent grove of Crimean pines, and if you climb one of them, then the houses of the GKSH are in full view.

We will finish the tour at the former home of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which is a stone's throw from the city prosecutor's office. The central part, protruding forward and equipped with porthole windows, makes the house look like a ship. But now you can shoot a horror movie here: the windows are tightly closed, the garden is overgrown, a fern breaks through the steps. How long Khodorkovsky owned the house is unknown. Subsequently, the building belonged to a certain Mr. Bagin, who was related to Gazprom. Then the house was transferred on account of an outstanding loan to the Moscow "Rus Bank", and he transferred it to the sanatorium "Primorye". This sanatorium is owned by the father of Sergei Ozerov, the former head of Gelendzhik, now a State Duma deputy from United Russia.

resort prison

The property of officials was actively studied Chairman of the Gelendzhik Human Rights Center Vladimir Ivanov. A few months ago, unknown people burned the trailer where he lived and kept documents. And now Ivanov was put in jail. He is charged under criminal articles 318 and 319 - "Use of violence against a representative of authority" and "Insulting a representative of authority." Ivanov published an independent newspaper, for which he wanted to photograph the chairman of the Gelendzhik City Court, Vladimir Krasnopeev. The investigation claims that Ivanov lifted the judge into the air and insulted him with foul language.

In the office of the Gelendzhik Human Rights Center, I managed to delve into the documents. I found, for example, a request addressed to the director of the FSB: Vladimir Ivanov is interested in why the territory of military unit 2156 in the "Putin" farm Praskoveevka was given for development? We are talking about those same houses, called the sports complex. There is no answer in the documents. But there is a March appeal by local politicians and businessmen to Putin: “For many years, land plots of federal significance have been illegally built up according to corruption schemes.<…>We demand that a government commission be sent to Gelendzhik.” Next - Vladimir Ivanov's lawsuit against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for the lack of a response to the appeal. The date of the suit is 27.04.09. Ivanov was detained two days later.

There are also documents concerning the head of Gelendzhik Viktor Khrestin. No one will say that the mayor will acquire resort property, because it belongs to the Gelendzhik-Hotel OJSC, which is run by his brother Anatoly Khrestin. In which case, the objects are recorded on a private person - Anna Khrestina, the wife of Anatoly and the mayor's daughter-in-law. The official annual income of the Gelendzhik Hotel is about 130 million rubles. The main shareholder is still the mayor's brother, but for some reason local residents claim that the year before last, State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov was spotted at a shareholders' meeting. I do not know…

In Soviet times, this resort empire was called the "Production Association of the Hotel Management of the City Executive Committee", had at its disposal about a dozen hotels, 9 Finnish baths, a car depot, hairdressers, laundries and water intakes. Today, the Khrestinsky company owns boarding houses, hotels and housing and communal services throughout the Gelendzhik coast.

From the human rights office I am going to the village of Kabardinka, the inhabitants of which are in conflict with the OJSC Gelendzhik-Hotel. To service the hotel "Volna", owned by OJSC, the head of the village provided a hectare of municipal land. And then the Gelendzhik city court ordered the mayor's daughter-in-law to buy this site - it turns out that this happens. The land bought by Khrestina was immediately divided and partially sold. There is a sewerage system on the site, which was used by three neighboring houses. Last February, employees of the OJSC beat it with wooden beams. I am standing in the yard and I see sewage spreading around the yard from under the cover of the sewer manhole. The residents appealed to the Gelendzhik city court, but the claim was returned without consideration three times.

In the village of Betta, a whole embankment is recorded on Anna Khrestina, including two cafes, a hotel, a billiard room, and an entertainment center. When checking the coastal zones, the Federal Property Management Agency found numerous violations of land legislation, and the chief architect of the Krasnodar Territory found violations during the construction of an entertainment center. But nothing can be done - the property is legalized by the same Gelendzhik court. The firm "Gelendzhik-Hotel" in Betta owns the boarding house "Yuzhny", a local water intake, former territory city ​​baths and camping, which used to be on the lands of the Ministry of Defense. Nearby is the MO sanatorium with a heliport and a private beach. Officials come here to rest ...

Weaving an empty plot in Gelendzhik costs from 130 thousand dollars. One social class is gradually being forced out of the coast by another, wealthy and powerful. In Sochi, this process is noisy, because the Olympic settlers are resisting. And in general, Sochi is in full view of the whole world. There will be no Olympics in Gelendzhik. A town in a cozy bay - either the Black Sea Rublyovka, or the Russian Beverly Hills, but without journalists and scandals. Just what big capital and big officials need to quietly settle down and dissolve into real estate.

Luxurious transport always causes envy and unfounded talk. Especially when it comes to the ministers of the church. So the yacht of Patriarch Kirill in 2011 made a lot of noise.

The most beautiful yacht in Russia

You can't stop billionaires from spending their money on luxury ships and stylish sea yachts. But what if such an expensive transport is seen in the possession of a servant of God? It's about about the most beautiful yacht "Pallada". This is a chic black boat with tinted windows. The cost of such a “toy” is $4,000,000. The numbers are shocking, and the question arises: "Is this the personal yacht of Patriarch Kirill, or did he just decide to ride with the breeze?"

The ship was built back in 2003, it was designed by the architect Guido de Grota. The total length of the yacht is 32 meters, its width is 7.45 meters. Initially, this ship was registered with the President of the Russian Federation. Today it is the yacht of Patriarch Kirill. It has four crew members who live in two cabins. The ship can also accept guests, but in the amount of 8 people.

What's inside the yacht?

The yacht of the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill is equipped with the most powerful instruments. The design of each cabin is royal. It is impossible not to mention the elite white wood, which was used for interior decoration. The designers also used mahogany and oak. All furniture is made according to special sketches of expensive material, sheathed with genuine leather.

The snow-white deck goes well with the dark hull. The yacht "Pallada" of Patriarch Kirill regularly receives guests from all the churches of the world. High-ranking spiritual leaders relax in a luxurious living room. There is not only a bar, but also the best home theater. The room is well insulated, so it is pleasant to be in it, even when the weather is raging outside.

Eight people can dine in the dining room. Each bedroom has a royal bed. In the bathroom you can take all the necessary water treatments and even enjoy the warmth of the sauna. For those who cannot imagine life without physical activity, a full-fledged fitness room is provided.

Where did the Patriarch of Moscow get the yacht from?

The personal life of the leaders of the Orthodox world is always of interest to ordinary people. And when strange news about luxury vehicles or expensive accessories appears, the people begin to criticize and accuse every minister of the church of dishonesty. This is exactly what happened when the yacht of Patriarch Kirill was discovered.

Journalists on the Internet began to talk indignantly about expensive apartments and how they would affect the prayerful mood of all those present. But the very first question that each person asked was very logical: "Where did Patriarch Kirill get a yacht from?"

Gifts from oilmen

In 2005, on July 25, the former yacht of Vladimir Vladimirovich was seen at the pier of Krestovsky Island. Valaam Monastery received such water transport through intermediaries. The ship was donated by a well-known oil

The monastery has long had its own fleet of ten vessels. But there was no status vessel in this collection. Guests with a special spiritual status are supposed to ride on special yachts. Therefore, the gift came to the court, and it is not at all scary that the name is pagan.

An attraction of unknown generosity?

The yacht of Patriarch Kirill made a lot of noise. What the ROC (Russian Orthodox Church) says about her is still unknown. Its representatives prefer to simply remain silent and shrug. Of course, this is a gift, but it is not customary to condemn for gifts.

The press secretary of NK Lukoil Dmitry Dolgov gave interviews to many printed publications. That's just about why they give such gifts, he is silent. The man only said that the yacht was not used by the company itself. It was specially purchased for Gundyaev, who represents the entire community of the clergy of our country.

Who is Pallas?

Athena's milk sister was named Pallas. This pagan name was baptized on a yacht destined for the leader of the state. No one paid attention to this until the yacht became owned by the RCP. In 2007, the ministers of the church promised that they would change the name to a Christian one - "The Tsaritsa". That is what the icon of the Mother of God is called. But so many years have passed, and the yacht still has not changed its name.

Journalists often asked church ministers questions about this. Those, in turn, found strange explanations for such behavior. Another special indignation is caused by the coats of arms of the Russian Federation located on the ship. As you know, the state emblem cannot be used by the RCP.

Land transport of Patriarch Kirill

In order to carry the word of God to the masses, it is necessary to move all the time. The yacht of Patriarch Kirill added to the collection, which is on the balance sheet of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the gift from the oil company itself, it came in handy. This is despite the fact that church leaders already had ten courts at their disposal. The yacht, of course, is a noticeable transport, but there are others that are not inferior to the vessel in terms of luxury and assembly:

• Vehicle fleet required to move on land. In the collection of the Patriarch of Moscow - "Mercedes" deluxe series S, Toyota Land Cruiser, limousine and even the Soviet rarity "Victory".
• Armored wagon with an icon on the facade.

Other generous gifts

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow regularly receives gifts from thousands of parishioners. Among them there are quite wealthy people who can afford gifts for $30,000. This is how much a Breguet watch costs. In them, the leader of Christianity repeatedly appeared in the frame, but sometimes they were removed by diligent editors. After all, such accessories will cause outrage among many people.

And the dacha in the form of a temple still shocks everyone who happened to be next to it. These mansions are located on the coast of the Krasnodar Territory. For the sake of their erection, hundreds of trees of the state forest fund were cut down.

Another yacht of the patriarch

Before people had time to forget about the generous gifts from the oil workers to the minister of the church, a new scandal erupted in September 2015. In the center of events - again the ship, the cost of which is about 600,000 dollars. Patriarch Kirill was seen on a yacht in August by local residents, but the information was leaked to the World Wide Web on 22.09. Even photographs were taken. They show that the gray-haired old man is at the helm. Further, photographs were taken showing the bathing of the patriarch. The action takes place in the Blue Bay, which is located near the village of Divnomorsky (Krasnodar Territory).

Journalists with particular zeal began to call everyone who could confirm the presence of Kirill on the Azimut yacht. But the rest of the clergy preferred to remain silent about the patriarch's boat trip. Silence only added questions, therefore, this could be. It is also known that ministers of rural churches repeatedly wrote letters to Patriarch Kirill himself. They accuse him of encouraging debauchery and turning a blind eye to expensive gifts that are inappropriate for all who serve the Christian faith.

But Alexey Nevzorov (a well-known publicist) openly points out that all the leaders of the clergy live on the money of parishioners and taxpayers. People simply put unimaginable sums into the purse of the RCP, buying candles, icons and other church paraphernalia. He also writes that ordinary mortal men and women who like luxury, expensive cars and large sums in their accounts are hiding behind all these cassocks. They are people who have forgotten what sin is and how to give their property for the good of faith. These people simply promote righteous views, but are not ready to throw gold and status off their shoulders.

This is how scandals arise when Patriarch Kirill rides on a yacht. The refutation appeared immediately after the unscrupulous accusations on the Internet. But in these words there was a lot in common and little information on the fact of Cyril's bathing in the Black Sea.

How does the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' live?

In 2014, in an interview, Kirill said a phrase that spread all over the Internet: "We live today as richly as we have never lived after the revolution." This statement caused a lot of comments. People tried to decipher what exactly the minister of the church had in mind. Perhaps the proposal was addressed to the Russian Orthodox Church. Since the people live quite poorly, especially in 2014, when the financial crisis began in the yard. The country's economy was also not in the best shape, because the prices of raw materials fell at a catastrophic rate. The state budget was replenished by taxes and fines.

Today, the Patriarch of Moscow also lives well. Especially if he cuts the waves of the Black Sea on a yacht, the cost of which is about 600,000 dollars. His close associates claim that this person has no time to be distracted by the holidays and entertainment of ordinary mortal people. He prays every day for the salvation of Russia and all its people. And the fact that there are several best cars in his fleet, the yacht of the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill Gundyaev is at the pier, and the car is made of bulletproof material - these are just the costs of his life. He is a public person, so you need to match the status.

Of course, whether to condemn the patriarch or not is a personal matter for everyone. No one knows what secrets this person keeps and how exactly he communicates with the Creator. In any case, his word is believed, and thousands of Christians are ready to follow him. And cars and yachts are the basic needs of civilized people. He should not live in an adobe hut and ride a cart. Moreover, the yacht has become an ordinary gift. So the rest of the transport was presented as a gift or purchased with the money of the Russian Orthodox Church. The budget in this treasury is far from small. Cyril has said many times that all the transport he uses is not his property. It remains only to believe the words of this great man, until the next provocative pictures leaked to the Internet.

Wealth of Patriarch Kirill: how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church earned capital. Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill in the nineties did not waste time in vain: in his professional piggy bank the organization of tobacco, oil, automobile and food business. According to various estimates, all this hectic activity brought capital to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in the amount of 1.5-4 billion dollars. Now the patriarch has at his disposal an apartment in the famous "House on the Embankment", a Breguet watch worth about 30 thousand euros, palaces in Peredelkino and Gelendzhik, as well as a personal aircraft fleet. world - Gundyaev Vladimir Mikhailovich. According to the newspaper, in the 90s, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, being a modest head of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR MP), was actively involved in business, thanks to which he amassed a fortune of several billion. Yes, not rubles, but dollars.

The business career of the patriarch began in 1993. Then, with the participation of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Nika financial and trading group arose, whose vice-president was Archpriest Vladimir Veriga, commercial director of the DECR MP. A year later, two commissions for humanitarian aid appeared under the government of the Russian Federation and at the same time in the OVCC: the first decided which aid could be exempted from taxes and excises, and the second imported this aid through the church line and sold it to commercial structures. Thus, most of the tax-exempt aid was distributed through the regular trade network, at normal market prices.

Through this channel, in 1996 alone, the DECR imported about 8 billion cigarettes into the country (data from the government commission for humanitarian aid). This caused serious damage to the "tobacco kings" of that time, who were forced to pay duties and excises and therefore lost in the competition of the DECR MP.

According to Sergei Bychkov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, who published several articles about the patriarch's tobacco business, when Kirill decided to leave this business, more than $50 million worth of "church" cigarettes remained in customs warehouses. During the criminal war for these cigarettes, in particular, an assistant to the deputy Zhirinovsky, a certain Dzen, was killed.

And here is a letter from the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation to the Moscow Customs Administration dated February 8, 1997, regarding “church” cigarettes: “In connection with the appeal of the Commission on International Humanitarian and technical assistance under the Government of the Russian Federation and by the decision of the Prime Minister of January 29, 1997 No. VCh-P22/38, I authorize the production of customs clearance of tobacco products in the prescribed manner with the payment of only excise duty received on the customs territory before January 1, 1997, in accordance with the decision of the above-mentioned Commission.

So, in fact, since then, a new title has been assigned to Metropolitan Kirill - “Tobacco”, writes Novaya Gazeta, while specifying that now he is no longer titled like that. Now it is customary to call the patriarch "Lyzhneg" - with the light hand of Orthodox bloggers who drew attention to the great importance in the life and work of Cyril of his passion for skiing (this hobby is served by a villa in Switzerland and a private jet, and in Krasnaya Polyana it helps to consolidate informal relationships with strong this world).

By the way, Kirill himself somehow tried to justify his participation in the tobacco business: “The people who were involved in this did not know what to do: burn these cigarettes or send them back? We appealed to the government, and it made a decision: recognize it as a humanitarian cargo and provide an opportunity to implement it.” Government representatives categorically denied this information, after which Patriarch Alexy II liquidated the DECR-MP commission and created a new ROC-MP Humanitarian Aid Commission headed by Bishop Alexy (Frolov).

In addition to the aforementioned Nika fund, the DECR MP acted as the founder of the commercial bank Peresvet, JSC International Economic Cooperation (MES), JSC Free People's Television (SNT) and a number of other structures. After 1996, Kirill's most profitable business was the export of oil through the MES, which was exempted from customs duties at the request of Alexy II. Kirill was represented at the MES by Bishop Viktor (Pyankov), who now lives as a private individual in the United States. The company's annual turnover in 1997 was about $2 billion.

Due to the secrecy of this information, it is now difficult to understand whether Kirill continues to participate in the oil business, but there is one very eloquent fact. A few days before the start of the US military operation against Saddam Hussein, Kirill's deputy Bishop Feofan (Ashurkov) flew to Iraq.

In 2000, information about Metropolitan Kirill's attempts to penetrate the market of marine bioresources (caviar, crabs, seafood) became public - the relevant government structures allocated quotas for catching king crab and shrimp (total volume - more than 4 thousand tons).

According to Kaliningrad journalists, Metropolitan Kirill, as the ruling bishop of the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Kaliningrad region, participated in an automobile joint venture in Kaliningrad. It is characteristic that Kirill, even after becoming patriarch, did not appoint a diocesan bishop to the Kaliningrad cathedra, leaving it under his direct control.

In 2004, Nikolai Mitrokhin, a researcher at the Center for Shadow Economy Research at the Russian State Humanitarian University, published a monograph on the shadow economic activity of the ROC MP. The value of the assets controlled by Metropolitan Kirill was estimated in this work at $1.5 billion. Two years later, journalists from Moscow News tried to count the assets of the head of the Church Foreign Ministry and came to the conclusion that they already totaled $4 billion.

And according to The New Times, in 2002, Metropolitan Kirill bought a penthouse in the "House on the Embankment" overlooking the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. By the way, this is “the only apartment in Moscow registered specifically in the name of the metropolitan, by his secular surname Gundyaev, about which there is a corresponding entry in the cadastral register.”

Another attribute of this life, which has become the subject of wide discussion, is a Breguet watch worth about 30 thousand euros, which Ukrainian journalists photographed on the left hand of the patriarch next to the monastic rosary. It happened the day after Kirill pompously broadcast live on the main Ukrainian TV channels: “It is very important to learn Christian asceticism… Asceticism is the ability to regulate one’s consumption… It is a victory of a person over lust, over passions, over instinct. And it is important that both the rich and the poor possess this quality.

The luxurious motorcades of Patriarch Kirill and the security services from the FSO, which he uses, have become a byword. In Moscow, when a patriarch travels, all the streets along his route are blocked, which, naturally, causes mass indignation of car owners. In Ukraine, Kirill's half-kilometer corteges completely shocked local residents: in a neighboring country, even the president travels much more modestly.

True, we must pay tribute to Kirill: for official visits, he charters the planes of the Transaero company, and uses his personal fleet only for personal purposes.

A separate and almost inexhaustible topic is the palaces and residences of the patriarch. Cyril strives to keep up with the first persons of the state in this matter. His permanent residence was the newly built palace in Peredelkino, for the sake of which several houses of local residents were demolished. From the windows of the trains of the Kyiv direction, it looks like a large Russian tower - like the Terem Palace in the Kremlin. Kirill does not like living there: he is worried about the nearby railway.

Therefore, the current patriarch ordered to re-finish the palace in the Danilov Monastery, which had not looked poor before. Not without scandals and the construction of the patriarchal palace in Gelendzhik, which first of all aroused the indignation of local environmentalists.

For the first time, the scandal around the Gelendzhik dacha of the patriarch broke out a year ago, when the activists of the "Environmental Watch" in the North Caucasus penetrated the territory of the facility under construction. During the inspection, they found out that at least 10 hectares of a unique forest are fenced with a three-meter fence, and in the center there is a strange “pathos” building topped with domes - something between a temple and a mansion.

At the same time, according to Novaya Gazeta, in 2004 the Russian Orthodox Church received at its disposal a plot of land with an area of ​​​​only 2 hectares. Moreover, this land belonged to the Forest Fund, respectively, according to the law, it is impossible to build capital buildings on this land. Nevertheless, large-scale construction began here. Ecologists say that during the construction, from 5 to 10 hectares of valuable forest were cut down, which is confirmed by images from space.

The Russian Orthodox Church hastened to refute the arguments of the "greens". The Moscow Patriarchate referred to the act of Rospotrebnadzor, according to which no facts of illegal logging were recorded on the territory of the Spiritual and Cultural Center. Environmentalists, in turn, point to the fact that the document was drawn up in December 2010 - that is, several years after the destruction of the forest.

Another scandal around the patriarch's dacha, again initiated by environmentalists, flared up in October of the past year. Then the activists said that the fire that broke out at the end of September of the same year on the territory of the Spiritual and Cultural Center of the Moscow Patriarchate could be the result of arson. As Novaya Gazeta noted at the time, according to the law, builders are required to pay hundreds of thousands of rubles in compensation for destroyed trees. And if the trees were burned in the fire, then compensation payments can be avoided.

In early 2011, the press reported that the ROC facility under construction near Gelendzhik was nothing more than a dacha for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. However, the information department of the Moscow Patriarchate refuted these arguments, stating that a spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church in southern Russia is being built on this site, along with existing centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Much has been written and talked about this road for more than one year. So what kind of road is this and what does “patriarch” Kirill have to do with it? Has anything changed since then, because there are not only numerous protests, but also victims of this inadequate situation…

First a video, then an article, photos and scanned documents.

On August 29, 2012, on the highway near the resort village of Divnomorskoye (this is in the Gelendzhik district of the Krasnodar Territory), a fifth-year student of the Don State University, Vitaly Savinykh, was hit by a car.

He was returning home from the village cemetery, where he visited his mother's grave. In a state of traumatic shock, the victim was taken to intensive care, where he fell into a coma. He was saved by a miracle. Vitaly's diagnosis: multiple fractures of the pelvis and chest, fracture of the scapula, contusion of the brain, extensive lacerations of the face and neck, multiple bruises of internal organs.

Golden hectares for respectable gentlemen

Two years ago, no one walked on this highway. First, it is far from the sea. Secondly, it is very narrow, winding, without sidewalks and, moreover, extremely busy - during the holiday season, cars rush through here one after another.

Well, and, thirdly, why risk your life if a wonderful pedestrian road is laid right along the coast, along which it is only five hundred meters to the local cemetery and the beloved Dzhankhotsky relic forest?

By the way, the road is famous: it was built more than a century ago by Fyodor Shcherbina, an outstanding Russian scientist, public figure and historian of the Kuban Cossacks. It was he who founded the neighboring village of Dzhanhot and had a dacha here. After the revolution of 1917, he left Russia, but his path faithfully served the people. Over a million vacationers passed along its picturesque serpentine in the shade of centuries-old Pitsunda pines every year; it was included in the list of the best tourist routes of the USSR. They took care of the road, they were proud of it. No one could have imagined that it could be blocked and appropriated.

What seemed savagery in Soviet times has become commonplace today. In 2005, the mayor of Gelendzhik Ozerov S.P. (later - State Duma deputy from"United Russia") leased for 49 years 1.2 hectares of the coast of the resortDivnomorskoye village together with the initial section of the Divnomorskoye-Dzhankhot road.

At the same time, the lease agreement for some reason did not contain a mandatory encumbrance in such cases (Article 23 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation) in the form of the right of passage through the site for the population and vacationers (i.e., the right of public easement).

Formally, a certain Semyonova V.A. acted as a tenant, but her husband Semyonov V.Yu. became the true owner of a truly “golden hectare”. - the owner of the transport company "OCHAKOVO-AVTO".

He immediately fenced off the public road and the coastal strip and began to blow them up (!), clearing the place. Soon, the Sea Club VIP hotel with a park, a swimming pool and a private pier grew over the sea (see http://seaclubvip.ru/) From now on, anyone who wanted to go into the forest or to the cemetery had to make a kilometer detour around the Semenov VIP -enterprises. The municipality of Gelendzhik, of course, did not see or hear the ongoing lawlessness “point blank”.

But they were flowers. "Berries" ripened in the fall of 2010, when the Patriarch of All Rus' Kirill completed his summer residence in Divnomorskoye, whose powerful fence, reminiscent of a fortress wall, became a direct continuationthe fence of Mr. Semyonov, according to our information - an old patriarchal acquaintance,who sponsored half of the construction of his Divnomorsky palace.

Cyril's residence, which occupied the entire territory from the sea to the highway, not only “gnawed off” half a kilometer of the public coastline and road, but also blocked the last opportunity for people to safely access the forest and the cemetery. Now they had to make a detour no longer a kilometer, but three kilometers (!), One of which was along the highway.

By the way, initially, i.e. in 2004, a relatively modest 1.8 hectares were allocated for the patriarchal residence, on which it was planned to build a compact country house. There was no talk of blocking the coast and the pedestrian road then (for details, see here: “How the construction of the residence of the patriarch near Gelendzhik began” http://echo.msk.ru/blog/andrey_rudomakha/970108-echo/#comments)

However, under Patriarch Kirill, who replaced Alexy II, who died in 2008, the area of ​​the residence increased 10 times (!), and 12.7 hectares of the State Forest Fund, covered with relic Pitsunda pine, were transferred for construction, felling and complete enclosure of the church, which are covered with relic Pitsunda pine, which are built up, cut down or fencing the law PROHIBITES IN PRINCIPLE.

The current head of Gelendzhik Khrestin V.A. I also did not see these lawlessness "at point blank range". Moreover, in response to citizens’ appeals regarding the blocking of the most popular resort road, the city administration mockingly replied that “the old pedestrian road to Dzhanhot has lost its significance as an object of transport infrastructure” and recommended that vacationers usefor the movement of the highway (!).

Then people decided to turn to the patriarch. They believed that in Divnomorskoye there was a so-called. "excess of execution" - or, to put it simply, the servile desire of individual officials to please His Holiness at any cost, including in violation of the law. In early December 2010, the appeal was submitted (see Open letter to Patriarch Kirill on the website social movement"Open Bank" http://openbereg.ru/?p=204). Almost two months have passed, but the answerit didn't follow. His Holiness considered the problem insignificant.

No law, no conscience

On February 5, 2011, the public movement "Open Bank" launched an all-Russian action "Modernization of Conscience", the purpose of which was to encourage the church to voluntarily unblock the public beach it had seized. Hundreds of citizens turned to Patriarch Kirill and other well-known figures of the Russian Orthodox Church demanding that they comply with moral and legal laws. Such correspondence, in particular, was conducted on the website of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation with V. Chaplin, chairman of the Department for Interaction between the Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate.

However, the society didn’t wait for anything other than streamlined phrases like “maybe it’s worth making it safe to pass along the highway or next to the highway” or “let’s hope that the problem is resolved” (see V. Chaplin on duty in the ward dated 09.03.11. http://www.oprf.ru/discussion/addquestion/122/?answer=&offset=3).

In April 2011, it turned out that the conscience of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church cannot be modernized. On the other hand, video cameras and security guards with the manners of special forces were quickly added to the concrete fences that fenced off the public coast and the road. Looking at these patriarchal “innovations”, people realized that the time had come to ask for protection from the state (See “The conscience of the patriarch: there was nothing to modernize” http://openbereg.ru/?p=1033).

In early May 2011, they turned to the guarantor of their constitutional rights -President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev From the presidential office, their appeals wereredirected to the prosecutor's office and Rosprirodnadzor. Already in June, his employeeswe went to Divnomorskoye and confirmed the fact of blocking the coastline with fences of the Russian Orthodox Church (see “The Church breaks the law. And this is officially recognized” http://openbereg.ru/?p=1476). Based on the results of the on-site inspection, the Office of Rosprirodnadzor for the Krasnodar Territory and Adygea was instructed to eliminate the identified violations.

Well, then - silence. The regional Department of Rosprirodnadzor simply spat on this order, i.e. they did not go to the place and the violations were not eliminated. That, in fact, ended the story of citizens' appeals to the President of the Russian Federation. But in Divnomorskoye, another holiday season has begun. Tens of thousands of vacationers came here and went for a walk in their favorite pine forest. And, of course, they stumbled upon a brand new concrete wall from the patriarch, bristling with steel spikes.

Someone, cursing the secular and spiritual authorities, went to look for another place for walking. Someone tried to take a detour along the highway, risking their lives. The strings of vacationers walking with children along the highway overloaded with transport quickly became a sad "attraction" of the Divnomorskoye resort.

"Holy place" behind a concrete fence

In March 2011, responding to citizens on the website of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation about the situation in Divnomorskoye, Archpriest V. Chaplin recommended that they "behave with dignity in a place that will become holy." He, of course, called the new residence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Gelendzhik region the future "holy place" (see http://www.oprf.ru/discussion/addquestion/122/?answer=&offset=3).

Mr. Chaplin is not an idiot. It is unlikely that he believes that any place where the foot of Patriarch Kirill sets foot automatically acquires holiness. He probably meant something else. Namely, the fact that the great charitable deeds constantly performed within the walls of the patriarchal residence will, over time, surely shed grace both on the aforementioned object itself and on the “wild” space surrounding it.

We are forced to state that over the past two years, no charitable deeds, great or small, have been noted here. Never heldhere the “spiritual and cultural” promised by the Patriarchate back in February 2010activities such as "educational work with children and youth, meetings with the public and the creative intelligentsia." The temple did not work, there were no divine services for the parishioners. But in the role of an island of earthly paradise, designed for a single VIP-person, the object functioned extremely intensively.

They say that the patriarch highly appreciates his new Black Sea residence. Happens here more and more often. With pleasure, she walks along the paths among the Pitsunda pines and breathes in the healing sea air for a long time in the rotunda arbor, installed above a high cliff.

In the evenings, he descends to their common pier with his neighbor Semyonov and sails tosea ​​on a snow-white yacht, where she bathes and admires the sunset.

In general, he leads a typical life of a Russian oligarch or a high-ranking civil servant on vacation, whose belonging to the clergy is only reminded by a cross over his luxurious palazzo.

The inhabitants of Divnomorskoye, by the way, treat him like that: as a powerful state official, and such, from the neighborhood with which there are only troubles. For them, the patriarch is now akin former minister Defense of the Russian Federation Serdyukov A.E. (by the way, the owner of the Church Order of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow), who last summer brought peaceful and calm Divnomorsk residents to a riot.

The thing is that Mr. Serdyukov, while still a minister, "had his eye" on the best sanatorium in the village "Divnomorskoye", owned by the Ministry of Defense. Well, and, probably, he decided to steal it according to a run-in scheme: first, completely modernize it for budget money, and then declare it a “non-core asset” and sell it to himself at a bargain price through all sorts of shell companies. The minister personally supervised the modernization of the sanatorium. Employees of Divnomorskoye will never forget how Mr. Serdyukov, being in a fairdrunk, wandered around the huge sanatorium park and growled at everyone he met: “Everything is m-mine here! I'm r-firing everyone!" One of the main points of "modernization" in Serdyukov's style was the capture and fencing of the public embankment and beaches adjacent to the sanatorium.

When this happened, the villagers rebelled. They simply had no other choice: after all, the promenade and beaches are the heart of the resort, a guarantee of earnings. Last July, more than five hundred residents of Divnomorsk came to a rally against the Serdyukov fences. The authorities panicked: OMON was called to the village, and the coast was opened to avoid clashes. Immediately after the resignation of the scandalous minister in Divnomorskoye, there were festivities with music and fireworks.

So: during the visits of Patriarch Kirill to this cozy resort corner, he, like the former Minister Serdyukov, managed to turn almost all of its inhabitants against him.

It turned out, for example, that His Holiness, having powerfully wedged his residence between a residential area and a village cemetery, does not tolerate even the slightest reminder of this mournful place. He, in particular, is extremely annoyed by the funeral, accompanied by music and the lamentations of grief-stricken relatives. Therefore, during the entire stay of the patriarch in Divnomorskoye, a police cordon is set up in front of the cemetery, which does not allow funeral processions here. There have already been cases when people returned to the memorial tables with the deceased.

What is happening, of course, hits hard on the nerves of the Divnomorsk people, especially veterans. Not only did the patriarch deprive them of the opportunity to walk to the cemetery on foot and visit the graves of their loved ones when they needed it. Now they are anxiously thinking: with what attempt will they be buried in their native land - the first, second or third?

It also turned out that His Holiness cannot stand the music that sounds in local coastal cafes. A sure sign of the arrival of the patriarch in Divnomorskoye, in addition to cordoning off the cemetery and the nearest roads, is the police and the administration of the village bypassing all entertainment establishments with the demand “Remove the music!” Their owners are indignant: business suffers, incomes fall.

Local fishermen do not have good feelings for His Holiness either. During the visits of the patriarch, patrol boats tightly block the water area adjacent to the village. For fishing schooners and boats, they do not make exceptions. The fishermen stand idle for weeks and only pray to the Lord that He would send His Holiness to Moscow as soon as possible.

These prayers became even more desperate after the incident in August, when the guards forbade the fishermen to pick up nets that had been thrown into the sea even before the arrival of the patriarch. After a couple of weeks of "patriarchal bathing" nets were chosen, they were filled with dead fish.

They say that His Holiness turned out to be an extremely difficult neighbor for the workersthe nearest sanatorium "Golubaya Dal" of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation to his residence. Since the windows and balconies of one of the buildings of the sanatorium look at the patriarchal palace, the patriarch demanded that all the local vacationers be resettled during his visits to Divnomorskoye. Of course, the administration is not warned about the timing of visits, so the emergency shaking out of resort guests from their legal rooms, and at any time of the day or night, has become the norm. As a result, scandals, losses and a blow to the reputation of the sanatorium, until recently impeccable.

But the heaviest blow in the gut was inflicted by His Holiness on local merchants and landlords - that is, almost 90 percent of the population of the village. The economy here is seasonal, focused exclusively on vacationers. Divnomortsy live at the expense of funds earned from renting out housing and selling resort goods.

The amount of money in their pockets is directly proportional to the number of holidaymakers visiting the village. And just with the holidaymakers, things are getting worse and worse. The reason is clear: the main tourist "highlight" of Divnomorsky has always been the Dzhankhotsky botanical reserve with an area of ​​450 hectares and the road passing through it. It was on it that the patriarchal fence “cut” it, cutting off the village from its main attraction.

If Archpriest Chaplin now met with the residents of Divnomorsk and asked if they felt the waves of holiness emanating from the residence of the Russian Orthodox Church, he would be extremely disappointed. People would honestly answer that they feel only waves of lies, hypocrisy and pathological shamelessness. And very many would admit that among themselves they have long called the “spiritual” object on the southern outskirts of Divnomorskoye “Gundyaevka” or “Chertyaevka”, and the highway in front of it - “Road of Death”.

However, church hierarchs do not meet with local residents. Either because they are aware of their real attitude towards themselves, or simply considering it superfluous. But they willingly meet with the local authorities. For example, with the head of Gelendzhik, Khrestin V.A., who was awarded the Order of Sergius of Radonezh by His Holiness last summer. Nominally - for "assistance in the completion of the construction of the Patriarchal Spiritual, Administrative and Cultural Center of the Russian Orthodox Church." In fact, for his connivance with the lawlessness perpetrated by the church on the territory of one of the best resorts in Russia.

Well, there is no doubt that such lawlessness will continue. Just at the time of awarding Mr. Khrestin with an order from the Russian Orthodox Church, the fences of the patriarchal residence were suddenly overgrown with formidable steel “horns” and gratings, through which an electric current was launched.

This was another signal from the "mother church" to all citizens of the country: do not expect mercy! Lawless fence on the public shore will stand. And the "Road of Death" of Patriarch Kirill will continue to collect its bloody harvest.

Palace on the cliff

It is a striking fact that for two years in a row people have been unsuccessfully trying to get from the first Christian of the country the manifestation of precisely those Christian qualities that he is obliged to possess in full measure - conscientiousness, love and mercy. And in response, they stumble only on a blank wall of lies, cruelty and the deepest contempt for their own flock. And, of course, they are trying to find the root cause of what is happening.

Today the authorities have declared war on corruption. The most famous and authoritative politicians in Russia are arguing how to overcome it. And they agree that the transcendental scale of this disaster is a reflection of the general corruption of the spirit, the loss of moral values ​​by tens of millions of people. The conclusion is this: the communist ideology and its moral regulators have sunk into oblivion, and on theirplace a spiritual vacuum arose, which was filled with rampant theft and iniquity.

However, for some reason, none of those arguing remembers that back in the early 90s, a truly grandiose national project was launched in the country, designed to replace the lost Soviet ideals in our minds and hearts and create the very “spiritual bonds” about which President Putin recently spoke . Such a project was the REVIVAL OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH as an institution rooted in a millennium Russian history and, as it seemed to many then, who carefully carried through all the storms of the 20th century the values ​​of Christian humanism.

Under the coming renaissance, the church was given enormous wealth, which included thousands of real estate objects - buildings, premises, land plots, as well as benefits and privileges for tens (if not hundreds!) of billions of dollars. These benefits, received at the expense of the people of Russia, have allowed it to become one of the most wealthy religious organizations in the world - which we observe daily and at every step.

But here's the problem: the years of the ROC's renaissance - that is, the rapid multiplication of its churches, courtyards, monasteries and other "spiritual" infrastructure - paradoxically coincided with a "renaissance" of a completely different kind, which experts call the period of RUSSIAN CRIMINAL ANDCORRUPTION. And this simply means that the church has failed to cope with its main function - to be the regulator of the moral state of society.

The church is a living organism. In the 1990s, a window of opportunity opened up before her, as well as before the whole society. She could, for example, choose the thorny path of a defender of gospel truths in the inhuman era of primitive accumulation. And in this case, she would have to strongly oppose the "new Russian" bandits, and the thieving oligarchy, and the extremely immoral government that gave birth to them. Her life would be full of worries and anxieties. But this path of spirit and conscience, no doubt, would make her truly strong and independent, and her authority among the people would be well-deserved. And then the history of Russia in recent decades would certainly have developed differently.

But she chose a different path, making her usual bet on a "cordial alliance" with the bureaucracy. Remember who were her most desirable friends and clients over the past twenty years, whom she rewarded and praised the most? Officials and their business partners are often outright thieves and bandits. Remember how the gates of temples, monasteries and other "God's" places opened wide before them. Remember the classic scenes of sprinkling "holy water" on official and gangster jeeps and limousines - as well as their yachts, apartments, offices, villas, etc.

Remember the no less classic slogan from Viktor Pelevin's cult novel "Generation P" - "A respectable Lord for respectable gentlemen!" - the most succinctly expressing the real essence of the social strategy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 90s. Remember the leitmotif of most of the interviews given by its hierarchs in the 2000s: “Give us back what the Soviet authority and we will be happy!” Finally, remember how most new churches were built and still continue to be built in the country: either through the most severe administrative pressure on small and medium-sized businesses, or directly at the expense of the state budget - as, for example, this is happening now with the plans of the Moscow authorities to build in the city 200 typical temples within walking distance(!). The simple and obvious truth that true faith is not planted like potatoes does not occur to the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and their bureaucratic patrons. Hence the eternal conflicts with the townspeople protesting against the aggressive intrusion into their squares and parks by "highly spiritual" colossus of concrete and steel.

The Church wanted to be a power - and it became a power. More precisely, an organic part of the extremely inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy of the Russian Federation. Its main function today is a violent imitation of the "spiritual revival of Russia" at the expense of the budget. It has not been thinking about becoming a truly spiritual institution, truly useful to society, for a long time. She has other goalspriorities. She wants to continue to equip islands of earthly paradise for herself.in the middle of a stagnating and dying country.

And in this sense, the situation around the patriarchal residence in Divnomorskoye is not an anomaly at all, no. It is, unfortunately, the norm of behavior for our shepherds, completely free from the opinion of their own flock. Of course, there are other people among the priests, but they do not determine the current face of the ROC. A typical portrait of a successful "father" is a symbiosis of an official and a businessman who rigidly builds his business on the use of administrative connections and leverage. Such quick-witted "priests", popularly referred to as "priests", somehow spontaneously grow mansions on the best public lands and "death roads" appear in front of their blank fences or under the wheels of their luxurious foreign cars. Suffice it to recall the recent sensational case of hieromonk Pavel Semin, who killed two people in his Mercedes-Gelendvagen in Moscow and disabled a third, and then cowardly fled the scene of the tragedy. As it turned out, the 26-year-old "humble monk", a petty clerk of the Patriarchate's manager, owned a whole fleet of exclusive cars with "thieves" numbers, plus several elite apartments.

And how many such “humble” monks and priests are now traveling around Russia,warmed by the authorities of different levels and confident in their "sacred" right tospecial, exclusive life? What kind of spirituality can we talk about here, what kind of Christian attitude to the world and people?! So now we have another "department for spiritual affairs" instead of the church, and instead of a moral example for the nation - bureaucratic show, cynicism and shameless luxury elevated to virtue.

Doesn't history teach us anything? After all, the church had a similar experience of a "symphony" with the authorities - and it ended in tears. Collapsed in October 1917 Russian empire. One of its pillars was the Russian Orthodox Church with 80,000 churches and almost 117 million parishioners. Just like today, she sang praises to the authorities in exchange for generous maintenance and a comfortable life, assured her of people's love and support. And when, under the weight of mistakes and crimes, it crumbled intodust, it suddenly became clear that there was no moral force in the country capable ofstop people at the precipice of mutual hatred and fratricide. All millennialchurch power, all its authority and greatness, which seemed indestructible, “faded” in a second, and millions of “respectable” parishioners turned into the most furious persecutors of their own pastors and destroyers of their own churches. For the centuries-old profanation of the spirit and faith, the country paid a terrible price.

Do you know when was the last time the head of the Russian Orthodox Church personally spoke in defense of the lives and dignity of our compatriots? In August 1698. Then the young Tsar Peter decided, in addition to the one and a half hundred archers hanged for supporting his disgraced sister Sophia, to execute another thousand for “intimidation”. The relatives of the condemned turned to Patriarch Adrian. He was so shocked by the sight of thousands of sobbing women, children and old people that he led their campaign to Preobrazhenskoye. The procession stretched for several versts, the most ancient and beloved icons were carried in front. People stood under the windows of the royal chambers and prayed, asking for mercy. Seeing this, Peter became furious and ordered everyone to be expelled, including Adrian. The shooters were executed. The patriarch fell seriously ill and died. According to contemporaries - from grief that he could not protect people. Peter's lesson was learned hard. Our subsequent primates already thought and “compassionate” with the people differently from Adrian. They were closer to the peace of personal palaces and the contemplation of seagulls in beautiful pavilions over the sea. A chasm opened up between their speeches and deeds.

“In the modern information environment, any news related to the Church is viewed through a magnifying glass. Any unworthy act of a person associated with the Church causes a flurry of negative publications... The Church teaches people a righteous life, and we, its members, are called to be an example for unbelievers and unbelievers, not only in words, but also in deeds!” These words belong to today's head of the Russian Orthodox Church. They were pronounced by him on December 28 at a diocesan meeting in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, summing up the results of the patriarchal service for 2012. Interesting: did Patriarch Kirill ever address them to himself personally?

hope dies last

Recently, residents of the Divnomorskoye resort turned to the activists of the “OPEN SHORE” movement. After the incident with their compatriot Vitaly Savinykh, who was hit by a car near the residence of the Russian Orthodox Church, they asked for our assistance in publishing their Open Letter to Patriarch Kirill. The motives of the residents of Divnomorsk are simple and understandable: “We love, honor, respect our native Orthodox Church, but we categorically refuse to be maimed and die because of its violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation!”

The letter was signed by 973 people.

"OPEN LETTER

residents of the village of Divnomorskoye, Gelendzhik municipalityHis Holiness Patriarch Kirill of All Rus':

Hello Your Holiness!

Most of us are Orthodox Christians. That is why we ask for your personal immediate intervention in a situation that directly threatens our lives and the lives of our children.

In the autumn of 2010, a concrete fence was installed around the residence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the village of Divnomorskoye, which, following the same concrete fence of the mansion at 14 Golubodalskaya Street (and, in fact, being its continuation), completely blocked the 500-meter section of the coastal strip of our village and the pedestrian road that runs through it.

We, Your Holiness, consider such a blockade completely unacceptable.

This section of the road is located within the administrative boundaries of the village of Divnomorskoye and, since the century before last, has served its population as the only convenient and safe way out into the forest and to the village cemetery, that is, according to the Law (clauses 9,10,12, article 85 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation), it is land of common use of the municipality and is not subject to any alienation and partitioning in principle.

At the same time, it is part of the coastal strip of the Divnomorskoye village, which the Law considers exclusively as a territory for the general use of all citizens of the Russian Federation and intends for their free and safe stay and movement (clauses 1,2,3,6,8 of article 6 Water Code of the Russian Federation).

The installation of a fence in this place not only grossly violates the Law, but also forces the residents of the village and vacationers to get to the forest and the local cemetery bypassing, walking a kilometer-long stretch of the Praskoveevsky highway - very narrow, winding and without sidewalks. The intensity of car traffic here is extremely high. Pedestrians are separated from the roadway by a few centimeters, they are constantly at risk of being under the wheels of vehicles.

Tragic incidents on the highway adjacent to your residence are already happening. So, on August 29 last year, a student of the Don State Technical University Vitaly Savinykh was hit by a car here. He was returning from the village cemetery, where he visited his mother's grave. In a state of traumatic shock, he was taken to intensive care, where he fell into a coma. He was saved only by the selfless actions of doctors. The young man will have a long treatment, after which the issue of his disability will be decided. Obviously, such tragedies will be repeated here in the future.

Your Holiness!

In your speeches, you constantly emphasize the importance of observing moral and legal laws, and preach the highest value of every human life. However, in the situation with the blocking of the coast of the village of Divnomorskoye, these laws and principles were violated in the most rude and inhuman way.

We call on Your Holiness to restore our legal right to a peaceful and secure life in our home village. We are very much looking forward to You a wise, far-sighted and merciful decision.

There are 67 signature sheets in total.

Coordinator of the All-Russian public movement "Open shore"

Sergey MENZHERITSKY

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