The "Chinese House" in Kirov is losing its protected status.

      "Inclusion in the unified state register is unjustified"

      The process, which urban defenders and concerned residents of Kirov have watched with pain and hope, is coming to an end. A public discussion organized by the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Kirov Region received an act of state historical and cultural expertise with a negative verdict. The date of the document is April 14, 2026.

      The expert's conclusion is disappointing: the inclusion of the identified object "House of E.D. Myshkin" (Orlovskaya, 42/Volodarskogo, 126), popularly known as the "Chinese House," in the register of cultural heritage sites is unjustified. The conclusion is negative.

      To promise is not to marry

      Let’s recall the backstory. In December 2021, the city administration put the building up for auction. In early February 2022, the "house" was purchased by Andrey Anuvarovich Mukhametzyanov for 4 million 446 thousand rubles. He is the founder of LLC "RitualGroup" and has been the head of LLC "Kirovkamien" since 2014. As previously reported by Newsler.ru, one of the conditions of the sale was restoration or reconstruction while preserving the original appearance of the building. It is Mukhametzyanov, according to the documents, who acted as the customer for the current expertise.

      At the end of January 2023, a fence was erected around the "house," and scaffolding appeared on one of the facades. It seemed that restoration had begun. But that was apparently where it ended. Six months later, the fence fell, workers disappeared, and the building continued to deteriorate. Later, the fence was replaced, but the situation remains unchanged — the scaffolding stands, there are no people, and the house continues to rot.

      By December 2024, the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites issued a warning to the owner about the inadmissibility of violating mandatory requirements. The agency explained that the project documentation for restoration has been in development for a long time, and if the owner does not take action, stricter sanctions will follow — up to a lawsuit to compel the work to be carried out. By May 2025, three years after the purchase, the "house" remained abandoned: the walls were leaning, adorned with graffiti, and charred fragments from a fire were visible. No conservation to protect against rain and snow ever took place.

      And now — an expertise that puts an end to the protective status.

      Wear — 100%, uniqueness — 0%

      The reason for the negative verdict, as stated in the document, was not someone's subjective opinion, but the documented technical condition of the building. According to the conclusion of LLC PRK "Vyatkaproject" (2022), the wear of the building's structural elements reached 100%. The experts concluded: the defects of the foundations and walls are irreparable, and the building itself should be demolished as it poses a danger to the life and health of people.

      Indeed — it is frightening to look at the house. The roof has collapsed in most parts, the roofing structure is destroyed, trees are growing inside, the plaster has fallen off, and there are signs of decay and soot from fires everywhere. According to the case materials, one of the serious fires occurred on January 7, 2017 — then the vestibule attached to the southern wall burned.

      The expertise also established that the preserved decorative elements of the facade are not unique to Kirov. The same plaster decor by master N.G. Dzhmukhadze can be found on other sites — for example, on the wing of the Ilyinsky estate (Svobody, 77A) or the house of the Yezdakova estate. And the "Chinese House" has no memorial value at all: it is not associated with any significant events or outstanding personalities.

      What’s next?

      Legally, this document could become the final point in a prolonged story. The object has been listed as "identified" since 2010 (order of the Department of Culture No. 273-a). By law, a decision on inclusion in the register must be made within a year. But 16 years have passed — and here is the result.

      At the same time, a hearing is underway in the Primorsky District Court (case No. 2-438/2026). The plaintiff is the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites, and the defendants are Dobrykin Ilya Viktorovich and Mukhametzyanov Andrey Anuvarovich. Within the framework of the case, the court has already suspended proceedings due to the appointment of an expertise — now, after the act has appeared, the process will apparently move from a deadlock.

      The act has been published on the official website of the department in the public discussion section. If the conclusion is approved following the procedure, the building will be excluded from the list of identified cultural heritage sites. This will lift the last restrictions — and the owner will finally be able to legally demolish the dilapidated structure that has never been restored.

      It seems that the once fabulously beautiful house on Orlovskaya Street is coming to an end, and descendants will never be able to see either the umbrellas on the ornate iron brackets, the wrought iron parapet grille, or the bright and unusual house that our ancestors associated with the amazing architecture of the East.