The Ministry of Culture approved the draft boundaries of the historical settlement of Tomsk • Russia today

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Dmitry Kandinsky / vtomske.ru The Russian Ministry of Culture adopted an order to approve the draft boundaries of the historical settlement of Tomsk. The document was sent to the Ministry of Justice for registration. Let us recall that Tomsk has had the status of a historical settlement of federal significance since 2010, but during this time the city did not have a document that, by law, historical settlements must have. have The development of the corresponding project and an attempt to approve it have been ongoing since 2016. In July 2022, the authorities announced the latest version of the project received from the Ministry of Culture. The mayor’s office said that this version of the document imposes important restrictions on the development of the central part of the city and tightens the requirements for new construction. Social activists noted that the city, with its statement, is creating “negative public opinion about the project.” The administration insisted that this version of the document had many shortcomings and adjustments were needed. However, the Ministry of Culture did not receive any official objections or proposals regarding the project. The order approving the draft boundaries of the historical settlement of Tomsk was signed by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova on October 30. Later, the document was sent to the Ministry of Justice for state registration. This information was confirmed to the editors of vtomske.ru on November 5 by the president of the regional branch of VOOPIiK Maria Bokova. “What is the next step? As soon as the Ministry of Justice registers this order, it will be published, reflected in all documents as officially adopted and will have legal force. Typically, such approvals take from one to two months. I don’t know how lucky we will be,” Bokova explained. She noted that at the current stage, comments on the document can only come from the Ministry of Justice, which, according to the interlocutor, is unlikely, since the project has long been studied by lawyers from the Ministry of Culture. “Previously, the document was available for viewing at the discussion stage; it was published on the official website to post information about the preparation of regulatory legal acts and the results of their discussion. <...> Now we don’t see this publicly. domain,” Bokova said.