Kiev threatened by shadowy construction
DISPATCH FROM KIEV
Land grabs, shady investment and administrative finger-pointing draw grass-roots protest in Ukraine's ancient capital.
KIEV, UKRAINE — There is a war raging in this graceful old city of colorful cathedrals, lush parks and cobblestone byways. It's a clanging, banging fight that threatens to slice up grassy gardens, overshadow the onion domes, break the sleepy slopes of rolling hills.
An epidemic of quasi-legal construction and shadowy land grabs is chewing on the ancient capital on the banks of the Dnieper River. Roughly 60 "scandal construction zones," as the mayor's office calls them, have turned Kiev's postage-stamp-sized downtown into a free-for-all of spanking-new skyscrapers, shady land acquisitions, grass-roots protests and fast-talking investors.
"We are witnessing the murder of a 1,000-year-old city," said Maryna Solovjova, a lawyer who has fought to halt construction in the midst of a UNESCO-protected hilltop in the heart of the city.
Who's responsible? Just about everybody blames the city government. But the mayor's office accuses the former mayor and the courts. The prime minister's bloc blames the city government, the president, the courts and just about anybody else -- except themselves. The president complains about the "rot and corruption" of the land deals, but also appears helpless.
The fight over Kiev is an apt symbol of the state of the country's leadership. Some Ukrainians say the debasement of the capital city, the spiritual heart of the nation, is a daily reminder that recent years of revolution and a fierce fight for democracy have somehow failed to deliver the clean government they had envisioned.
"It isn't just buildings. This is a social issue, and buildings are just the visible part of the iceberg," said Artem Chapeye, a 26-year-old activist who has joined raucous demonstrations to halt some of the construction projects. "We were hoping for more democracy. But there's a small group of people in charge, and they don't listen to anybody."
Priced out of downtown by ballooning rents and watching the picturesque neighborhoods morph before their eyes, disgruntled residents describe a feeling of helplessness to preserve the town they describe as Europe's greenest capital.
With anger rising and land being gobbled up, an irate parliament called for an early mayoral election to be held this month.
As 79 candidates scrap for votes, some of the most controversial building projects have been frozen without explanation, leading many residents to mutter that the officials who claim innocence can evidently halt the construction when it's politically convenient.
