Shcheli Simakova — year

      In Kirov, the "Simakov Gap" is preparing to celebrate its first birthday. Almost a year ago, on April 3, 2025, the residents of Kirov first noticed a significant crack in the foundation of the central rotunda in Alexandrovsky Park.

      Today is March 27, 2026, and the situation has only worsened. The gap has noticeably increased, gone deeper, and continues to spread across the foundation. Around it are new cracks, like "friends," encompassing almost the entire bottom of the structure. We did not check the depth "by the Simakov method," but even without this, it is clear that the process of destruction is proceeding confidently and without any control.

      However, the problem has long since gone beyond a single gap. The entire rotunda today looks as if the repair was not "recent," but somewhere in the last century: the plaster is peeling off in layers, the corners are gradually turning into something rounded and crumbling, and individual elements are simply falling off.

      The columns and decorative elements deserve special attention. What should have been neat architectural lines now looks blurred and "sagging": the surfaces are covered with cracks, and the bottoms of the columns have darkened and rusted in places. It gives the impression that the object has stood without care for decades—even though it was "updated" recently.

      And this is one of the key points—Alexandrovsky Park, a place where guests of the city are taken and where the residents of Kirov love to walk. The very object whose repair was delayed, accompanied by promises, and, as is now evident, ended quite formally.

      One can only hope that today, March 27, Vyacheslav Simakov will find time for a walk in the park. And perhaps he will notice a symbolic balloon with the inscription "Year" near the rotunda—in honor of how for almost a year, the very Gap taken "under personal control" has been living and growing peacefully in the center of the city.

      Life of the Gap: Much has happened in a year

      The large gap in the foundation of the central rotunda was noticed by the residents of Kirov on April 3, 2025. The day after photos of the gap appeared in the media and city public pages, the head of the city administration, Vyacheslav Simakov, arrived at the site, felt the gap with his hands, and instructed the management of the May Day territorial administration to conduct an inspection soon to make a decision on restoration work. In addition, the contractor responsible for the reconstruction was issued a directive to eliminate the identified deficiencies as part of the warranty obligations. "I have taken the situation under personal control," added the head of the administration.

      Perhaps Vyacheslav Nikolaevich, immersed in other concerns of the city economy, forgot that he publicly promised to "take personal control" of the situation with the gap in the rotunda: four months after the appearance of the gap, no work or, possibly, inspections were conducted; the foundation of the rotunda continued to gape with a hole, and the gap received the "popular name" Simakov Gap.

      Five months later, the Simakov Gap has grown a bit and gained new "friends": other small gaps appeared around the Gap, and in some places the plaster fell off. Judging by the condition of the Simakov Gap, someone tried to at least somewhat "cover up" "this shamelessness": large "patches" appeared above and below the Gap, but these "spit patches" brought neither practical nor, especially, aesthetic benefits—the Gap continued to grow.