Protests continue in Irpen over illegal construction at the Synergy City residential complex.
"The housing problem corrupts people"—the famous words of Mikhail Bulgakov, written 100 years ago, can still be considered relevant today. The city of Irpin, located just 25 km from the capital, serves as proof of this. The greed of local developers in pursuit of profit has already led to the transformation of this once cozy, green town into a concrete jungle, where living is not only uncomfortable but sometimes even dangerous. It's no wonder that local residents regularly hold rallies, demanding accountability for local officials and deputies who are handing out city land for development left and right, often ignoring legal requirements and safety concerns, writes apostrophe.
Flower City
The town of Irpin is located just 26 kilometers from Kyiv. It appeared on the map in 1899 as a dacha community for railroad workers and took its name from the river that flowed through it. The settlement was nestled among a pine forest. Over time, sanatoriums, as well as recreation and creative centers, opened here. Irpin was a favorite hangout for the literary and musical elite: writers, musicians, and artists came to the Kyiv suburbs to relax and gain inspiration.
Lesya Ukrainka, Panas Myrny, Mykola Lysenko, and Maria Zankovetska lived in this resort village. During Soviet times, Ostap Vyshnya, Mykhailo Stelmakh, Oles Honchar, Maksym Rylsky, Pavlo Tychyna, Andriy Malyshko, and Vladimir Sosyura created their works in the Irpen House of Writers. Director Alexander Dovzhenko drew inspiration for his films here. In the 1930s, the future Nobel laureate Boris Pasternak visited Irpen.
The renowned writer Nikolai Nosov, author of the celebrated novel "Dunno," also spent his childhood in this resort village near Kyiv. Irpin served as the inspiration for the Flower City in his works.
The Irpen River, on which the city stands, was, according to sources, once navigable. This waterway stretched over 160 kilometers, and in the 19th century, it was home to around 60 species of fish.
Today, the forest in Irpen is dwindling, and the Irpen River has become a muddy swamp in places. The town itself can no longer be called "flowery." The reason is the greed of people turning it into a concrete jungle.
The river is a source of money
Scientists claim that water is the basis of life. However, for Irpin's leaders, it is, first and foremost, a source of income. Moreover, the river is being literally squeezed dry for the sake of housing developments and other "urgent needs." Here are some examples.
In 2017, black soil from the Irpen River floodplain began to be sold. Local residents and environmental scientists raised the alarm. Journalists discovered that the Irpen soil was being sold by businessman and Irpen City Council member Nikolai Kurovsky, a member of the team of former Irpen Mayor Vladimir Karplyuk. The soil was discovered at the businessman's production facility near the Moshchun holiday village. Kurovsky himself claimed he was not breaking the law. However, as scientists noted, the areas where the soil was removed are becoming swampy, causing significant environmental damage to the region.
In addition to black soil removal, illegal peat extraction has been reported in the Irpen floodplain. In December 2018, Irpen City Council member Lavrenty Kukhaileshvili reported filing a complaint with the prosecutor's office regarding illegal peat extraction, and a criminal case was opened based on his complaint. The poaching was stopped. However, the poachers did not calm down and soon returned to their "business." According to Kukhaileshvili, the local city council granted permission for peat extraction, clearly exceeding its authority. Only the relevant ministry can grant such permission.
The river defender soon got even, and his car was burned. Recently, peat extraction has resumed, and local activists are once again sounding the alarm.
But peat and black soil are just the tip of the iceberg. Fish have begun dying en masse in the Irpen River, which has turned into a stream. Journalist Mikhailina Skorik-Shkarovskaya reported this on Facebook. According to her, the fish were frozen into the ice due to low water levels. Other eyewitnesses have also repeatedly reported the mass death of fish in the Irpen.
But that's not the worst of it. The main blow to the Irpin River has been the wholesale development of residential neighborhoods on its floodplain, which is effectively leading to the complete destruction of the unique local ecosystem.
According to scientists, large-scale development of the river floodplain could even lead to a global environmental disaster – the flooding of some high-rise and residential buildings.
Residents of the high-rise buildings currently being built along the river thanks to the efforts of former Mayor Karplyuk are particularly at risk. The floodplain lands are designated exclusively for agriculture, as groundwater levels there range from 30 cm to 2 meters. This means the entire floodplain is considered potentially floodable, and new construction is strictly prohibited there. But apparently not for Vladimir Karplyuk's team, for whom this is all just empty talk.
Local "Karabas" Karplyuk
In Nosov's works, the Flower City where his characters lived was never in danger. In fact, Irpin was somewhat similar. Until its own "Karabas-Barabas"—Vladimir Karplyuk—came into being. Since then, the once calm and green city has been rocked by protests from defrauded investors, wars with the titushki, and the fight to preserve green spaces.
To be fair, it should be noted that the emergence of the local "Karabas" group is partly the fault of the residents of Irpin themselves, who elected him mayor in 2014. They voted for Karplyuk despite the fact that he was a creature of the Party of Regions. Of course, after the Euromaidan, he quickly changed his tune and became a member of the locally well-known "Novi Oblychcha" party, which is associated with former Party of Regions members, former Kyiv Mayor Chernovitsky, and other notorious figures.
Karplyuk ran for mayor of Irpin three times, but lost the first time in 2010. However, in 2014, during the snap elections, he managed to convince the Irpin community with his sweet-sounding promises and won the mayor's seat with 31% of the vote. Moreover, when running for mayor, Karplyuk shamelessly declared that he owned 67 (!) apartments.
It is important to remember that in 2010-11, Karplyuk worked as deputy for economics to the head of the city of Bucha, Anatoly Fedoruk, who was his godfather.
It was in Bucha that the cronies began developing schemes involving land plots and forests, which would later be investigated as fraudulent. Representatives of the Anti-Corruption Center described how land plots were privatized in Bucha using front men and then resold to people associated with Fedoruk and Karplyuk.
In 2011, the godparents founded the company "Budregioninvest," which they registered in the names of their wives. This company subsequently became the main contractor for new buildings in Bucha.
Having become mayor of Irpen, Karplyuk spread this practice there as well.
It's not as if law enforcement did nothing. The Irpen "Karabas" became the subject of several dozen criminal cases.
On August 2, 2018, the mayor of Irpin resigned, explaining his decision by citing his intention to run for the Verkhovna Rada. Fortunately, Karplyuk was unable to secure a seat in the chamber beneath the Verkhovna Rada dome. However, after leaving his post as mayor, Karplyuk continued to oversee the illegal construction situation in Irpin through the remaining members of his team.
Listing all of Vladimir Karplyuk's criminal cases would likely take several pages. We'll name just a few.
While still serving as deputy mayor of Bucha, Karplyuk became involved in a case involving violations of crane operation regulations during construction work. The safety violation resulted in the death of a person.
In December 2017, Vladimir Karplyuk was served with a notice of suspicion for participating in a criminal group. The Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office charged Karplyuk under several articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code:
— Part 1 of Article 255 (creation, management of a criminal organization for the purpose of committing serious and especially serious crimes; Part 4 of Article 28 Part 5 of Article 191 (seizure of another's property by abuse of official position, committed on an especially large scale as part of a criminal group); Part 4 of Article 28 Part 1 of Article 205 (acquisition of a business entity for the purpose of covering up illegal activity); Part 4 of Article 28 Part 3 of Article 358 (forgery of documents); Part 4 of Article 28 Part 1 of Article 366 (forgery by an official).
Karplyuk could have been jailed for ten years for these two criminal cases alone. But the Ukrainian justice system has yet to do so.
In January 2021, the prosecutor's office filed another indictment against the former mayor of Irpin. Karplyuk is accused of official negligence. The investigation established that in July 2017, the former mayor signed acceptance certificates for completed road repairs on one of Irpin's streets. As a result, the contractor received over 2,7 million hryvnias in budget funds for the work. However, the road repairs were never actually completed. Local journalists previously reported on Karplyuk's schemes in more detail.
New Vasyuki
During Volodymyr Karplyuk's three years as mayor of Irpin, the city's population has grown sharply. This is understandable, as thousands of people seeking relatively affordable housing have flocked to the Kyiv suburbs.
According to the Kyiv Oblast Statistics Office, 184,736 square meters of housing were commissioned in Irpin in 2018. This is slightly less than in Brovary, Boryspil, and Bucha, all of which are comparable in size.
According to Lun.ua, as of April 2021, apartments are available for purchase in 71 residential complexes in Irpen, all at varying stages of completion. Only Kyiv is seeing a larger number of new buildings under construction.
In pursuit of the "golden key," housing investors are falling for the advertising of developers who paint Irpen as some kind of "New Vasyuki."
Here's what the Synergy construction group writes on its website, for example:
"Irpin is a city to live in!"... "Irpin's location in a resort area and close proximity to Kyiv, with all the advantages of capital life, attracts more and more young people and families with children."... "Irpin's parks deserve special attention, as you won't find such a variety of lush greenery, well-maintained paths, and modern concepts anywhere else!"... "The city embankment has become a magnet for locals and visitors alike."
But in reality, things turn out differently. Centuries-old trees are being cut down to make way for development, and the river has turned into a muddy stream.
An axe to ecology
For any undertaking, whether it's a legitimate business or selling square meters in buildings built on illegally allocated land, the "image" is crucial. This principle was also the driving force behind Vladimir Karplyuk's team. In 2014, numerous billboards appeared along the highway from Kyiv to Irpin, advertising comfortable housing a 15-minute drive from the capital. Moreover, prices for these properties were promised to be much lower than in Kyiv. The projects were owned by Orlan-Invest Group and the Synergy construction group. Both companies are associated with Vladimir Karplyuk, although they are owned by other people.
In the end, it turned out that almost all of these development projects were scandalous. And the advertising was a sham. Here are just a few examples.
In July 2015, forest clearing began at 30 Yesenin Street. Orlan planned to build the Yesenin residential complex on this site. Local conservationists attempted to save the alder grove from being cleared, but thugs intervened, and one of the activists was brutally beaten.
The fact is that the city council leased this land to the Irpenstroyinvestbud municipal enterprise without public hearings or permits. The land was then subleased to the Orlan-Invest Group construction company. The developer was then granted permission to cut down the trees.
Construction of the residential complex continued, and legal proceedings began. These were met with varying degrees of success. Initially, construction was halted.
The developer then appealed this decision to a higher court, which allegedly upheld the construction of the residential complex. It was later revealed in court that the Irpen City Council had no right to dispose of the land plot at all, as it was not located within the city limits.
While the proceedings were ongoing, the complex was built, and Orlan-Invest began implementing the Yesenin-2 residential complex project.
Incidentally, another Orlan project, the Chekhov Park Quarter residential complex, also proved controversial. On January 16, 2018, the Kyiv District Administrative Court ruled the urban development conditions and restrictions on the land plot illegal.
Currently, as noted by the website Lun.ua, construction of this residential complex is frozen, and apartment sales have been suspended.
The project of the construction group "Synergy" also deserves attention.
On August 28, 2019, company director Igor Overko pompously presented the Synergy City residential complex. This project promised to be large-scale. The complex was planned to include 72 (!) multi-story buildings. Even in Kyiv, such a rare occurrence. Synergy City was planned to be built right in the floodplain of the nearly defunct Irpin River.
But, as noted above, building houses in the river floodplain is strictly prohibited, and it's also unsafe. However, this isn't an obstacle for "Karplyuk's team."
In December 2018, Irpin City Council members amended the Irpin general plan without discussion and amid controversy, "legalizing" the development of green spaces and increasing the height of new buildings. The council members spent just 23 seconds approving the document.
Moreover, the people's representatives followed a well-established strategy. They changed the designated use of the land, something only the Cabinet of Ministers can do for recreational areas.
The Irpen Prosecutor's Office appealed the decision to allocate land for the construction of the Synergy City residential complex, and on September 13, 2019, the investigating judge of the Irpen City Court seized six land plots totaling over 29 hectares, which belonged to two individuals and two legal entities.
Due to numerous violations of urban planning legislation, the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate (GASI) has suspended construction of the Synergy City residential complex.
On January 16, 2020, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv lifted the seizure of the land plots. Construction of the project therefore continued.
Other notable development incidents in the city are worth mentioning. For example, the construction of the "Blagodatny" microdistrict, which is also considered one of the largest construction scams in Irpin. The defrauded investors, having lost their cases at the local level, were forced to stage protests and appeal to the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
Epilogue
Although Vladimir Karplyuk is no longer in Irpin's leadership, his legacy lives on. Following the departure of the controversial mayor, his ally, Anastasia Popsuy, became acting mayor, but she immediately found herself embroiled in a construction scandal.
Popsuy promised the city residents she would build a school. Moreover, she claimed, a renowned Italian architect had been hired to design the project. In reality, the school's place was occupied by yet another high-rise building.
In October 2020, Irpin residents stepped on the same rake again, electing Karplyuk's ally, Oleksandr Markushin, as the city's new mayor. He ran as the "New Faces" party candidate. Markushin received 45,42% of the vote.
It's clear that nothing has changed in Irpen since Markushin's arrival. The public movement "Chesno" provided more details about the new mayor's first 100 days in office.
In the most recent development, on April 7, 2021, the "Irpen News" Facebook page posted information about another new development—the "Burgundy" residential complex. According to the post, the residential complex is being built by Otvazhnykh LLC, owned by former mayor Karplyuk and his business partner, Spivak. Construction began on a plot belonging to Natalia Boychuk, a member of Karplyuk's inner circle.
The following day, April 8, 2021, a rally against the city's chaotic development took place outside the Irpen City Council building.
It's too early to draw the curtain on the massive development of Irpin by "Karabas" Karplyuk. After all, thanks to his efforts, the once-thriving city is being transformed into a concrete ghetto. For profit, the developers continue to build residential buildings, neglecting to build schools and kindergartens, which are sorely lacking.
For example, last year, Irpen schools had 6338 places, but in reality, 8176 students were enrolled. All the city's kindergartens are designed for 1838 places, while according to the Irpen City Council, the need is 3038.
Moreover, the city's life support systems can no longer support such a large number of new buildings. But the most terrifying thing is that the construction of residential complexes is also destroying the recreational area of this once-resort town.
So is it worth pursuing the "golden key" to Irpin? The answer is obvious.
Andrey Kovalenko
In topic: Oleg Nemirovsky: a corrupt official who will leak Karplyuk's cases
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