"Pidrahuy" doesn't abandon his own!
The developments around this sanatorium are being carried out with clear and numerous violations of the law, and what this charitable project will actually turn out to be is known only to its initiators.
The scandal surrounding the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base is rightfully considered one of the most high-profile political events of this summer. Indeed, City Council member Oleh Markov, brother of MP and RODINA party leader Igor Markov, decided to speak out against MP Sergei Kivalov (Read more about it in the article Sergey Kivalov, the Godfather of Corruption and Justice), considered one of the most influential people not only in the city, but also in the country.
At the center of the scandal is a recreation center belonging to the once world-famous Black Sea Shipping Company: the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base, which, as they say, has caught the eye of Sergei Kivalov's companies.
Veterans of the Black Sea Shipping Company have long been fighting against attempts to seize what is arguably the company's last remaining valuable asset. But until now, their protests have been a voice crying in the wilderness.
This article explores what exactly happened and is happening around the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base, and why Black Sea Fleet veterans call attempts to develop the base's territory nothing less than a "raider takeover."
So, this story began in 2011, when the Odessa National Law Academy entered into a lease agreement with the State Property Fund of Ukraine for the buildings and structures of the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base.
We are talking about a 7-story and a 3-story residential building, a 2-story medical building, an administrative building, a club building, a cafeteria building, etc. The total area of the leased buildings is more than 20 square meters.
The details of this deal are a closely guarded secret, although some information has leaked to the press. Speaking to journalists on the "Groshi" program on the 1+1 channel, Law Academy President Serhiy Kivalov stated that the buildings are being rented for 1 hryvnia per square meter. This is a paltry sum: the average market rent for real estate in Odesa's Primorsky district is approximately 120 hryvnia per square meter per month.
This fact alone, in our opinion, should have drawn the attention of the prosecutor's office to the events at the Inter-Voyage Base, which should have investigated the extent to which state interests were respected when concluding this agreement. If not, those guilty of violating these same interests should be held accountable for, at a minimum, official negligence (Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, punishable by up to five years' imprisonment).
But the story of the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base only begins there. On October 11, 2012, the lessee demolished one of the leased buildings—a medical facility with a book value of approximately 4 million hryvnias. In effect, the lessee destroyed state property, something they, of course, had no right to do. In other words, this constitutes a crime under Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Construction is beginning on the newly cleared site. Officially, the project concerns the construction of a church school building, which is being carried out by the "Student Church" charitable foundation. It should be noted that this foundation has no connection whatsoever to the Sailors' Inter-Voyage Base, other than the fact that its co-founder is Sergei Kivalov, President of the Law Academy.
From a legal perspective, the charitable foundation simply entered a vacant plot of land (after the demolition of the hospital building) and began construction there. These actions also carry specific penalties under the Criminal Code: Part 3 of Article 197-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized construction of buildings and structures on an unauthorized plot of land), punishable by up to three years' imprisonment.
The latter, incidentally, is a well-established fact. Odessa Vice Mayor Kyrylo Shalamai and the State Inspectorate for Architectural and Construction Supervision stated that there were no construction documents, nor any rights to dispose of the land. It was precisely because of the lack of these documents that Sergei Kivalov's charitable foundation was ultimately forced to suspend construction work on the site.
So, at this stage alone, we've identified at least three facts that have a very specific classification from a criminal law perspective. But law enforcement remains silent.
City Council member Oleh Markov offered one theory as to why the prosecutor's office suddenly became strangely blind. He claimed that all the complaints he sent to the prosecutor's office regarding construction at the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base ultimately ended up with the Black Sea Transport Prosecutor's Office. This office is headed by Rostyslav Kryklyvyy, the son of Odesa City Council member and Vice-Rector of the Odesa National Law Academy, Mykola Kryklyvyy.
But let's return to the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base. If the Law Academy and the Student Church had succeeded in completing the plan and finishing construction, the consequences for the base would have been dire. Most likely, one of these entities would have successfully sued to have the building recognized as their private property (just as the embankment near the dolphinarium was recognized as private property).
The building's owner would then, quite legally, appeal to the city council to allocate the land beneath that very building. Moreover, the size of the land plot could be quite unexpected: at the last session, for example, the owners of the former Vympel cinema building were granted a lease of 0,36 hectares of land, even though the area beneath the building itself is five times smaller. And then, on the leased land, they could build whatever they pleased...
However, the publicity surrounding the controversial construction project, thanks to Oleg Markov's efforts, apparently prevented this plan from being implemented. The initiators of the construction were forced to legalize the project. However, the manner in which this was done was itself a violation of the law.
To legalize the construction, they decided to take advantage of the 20th session of the Odessa City Council, which, conveniently, was scheduled to take place a few days after construction had to be halted.
Literally the night before the session, the agenda underwent some changes: in particular, an item was added to it requesting consent from the Student Church Foundation to develop a project to allocate a 1,9-hectare plot of land on the territory of the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base. The draft resolution was successfully adopted by the deputies. But there are some nuances.
Firstly, the city council had no right to make such a decision. The fact is that only those who own property in the allotted area, as well as state or municipal entities and religious communities, have the right to develop such allotments. The private foundation "Student Church" has no connection to any of the first, second, or third.
If the City Council agrees to lease this land, then, according to legal requirements and, incidentally, the Charter of the Odesa Territorial Community, the tenant must be selected through a competitive tender. This is done to ensure that the community's property is used as efficiently as possible, specifically to maximize the budget's revenue. However, in this case, the deputies ignored the law and leased the land to the "Student Church" without any competitive tender, thereby committing official malfeasance. The Odesa Mayor will commit the same crime by signing this decision.
Secondly, even the decision-making process itself was fraught with violations. Specifically, in violation of City Council regulations and Ukrainian law, absentee cards were used to pass the decision, as documented in numerous photographs and videos.
According to the chairman of the RODINA party faction in the Odesa City Council, approximately 10 unaccompanied voters voted that day. Considering that the draft resolution garnered only 70 votes out of the required 61, this decision cannot be considered valid at all.
Furthermore, the 20th session of the City Council adopted another resolution in favor of developing the Mezhreysovaya Base: the development of a detailed site plan for this area. Such documents are typically used to legalize construction projects. The developer's desired facility is included in the detailed site plan, thereby becoming part of the city planning documentation.
This decision also contradicts, if not the law, then at least common sense. According to law, detailed territorial plans must supplement and clarify the provisions of the main urban planning document—the General Plan of Odesa.
Which General Plan will clarify this detailed territorial plan? The current General Plan from 1989? But that document doesn't provide for any schools, even parochial ones, on the territory of the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base: according to it, this area is designated as a sanatorium and resort area. A new General Plan? But that document hasn't yet been adopted! How can its contents be predetermined by developing a detailed territorial plan?
Odessa General Plan. Existing Land Use Scheme
However, this wouldn't be the first example of Odessa putting the cart before the horse, with the provisions of the General Plan being made dependent on previously adopted detailed territorial plans. For example, at one time, architectural officials justified the development of a square on Sakharov Street by citing the fact that the City Council had previously approved a detailed plan for the area, according to which a sports facility would be built on the square's site as part of preparations for the EuroBasket.
But let's return to the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base. What is actually being built there—and what do they intend to build in the future? This question is a closely guarded secret. Perhaps when the detailed territorial plan, authorized by the session, is discussed, a little more light will be shed on this matter. For now, we are left to rely on circumstantial evidence and the occasional slips of the tongue by those in charge.
First, it's worth noting the size of the site allocated for the school's construction: 1,9 hectares. By comparison, the buildings of the International Humanitarian University at the 5th Station of Bolshoy Fontan, according to the cadastral map, occupy half the area. The neighboring comprehensive school No. 38 fits into an area of 0,8 hectares—including all the sports fields and other adjacent areas. So what are they planning to build on the grounds of a parochial school that required two hectares of land?
Serhiy Kivalov himself, on the aforementioned "Groshi" program, stated that a "student campus" would be built here. The city's Department of Architecture says that, in addition to a parochial school, a Law Academy academic building will be built on the site of the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base. Finally, the draft General Plan for Odesa also stipulates that the Law Academy's facilities will be located on this site—there's no mention of any parochial schools. Meanwhile, Black Sea Fleet veterans have noted a number of structures being built on the base that are unusual for a parochial school: for example, they're already digging a pit for a swimming pool.
The very idea of building a parish school on the grounds of the Inter-Voyage Sailors' Base can be viewed in various ways. One thing is clear: the current developments around this sanatorium are being carried out with clear and numerous violations of the law, and the true outcome of this charitable project is known only to its initiators.
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