It was decided not to restore the former residence of Nazarbayev in Alma-Ata

The memory of Nazarbayev is being taken apart brick by brick

The consequences of the January events are still being “raked” in Alma-Ata. In a week of rioting, armed rebels managed to inflict such damage on the infrastructure of the city that it took almost a year to restore it. At a government meeting attended by President Tokayev, Alma-Ata Akim Yerbolat Dosayev said that the infrastructure destroyed in January had been almost completely restored. But some destroyed objects will not be restored. We are talking about the burned-out building of the former residence of the president and the building of the TV channel “Kazakhstan”.

Instead of them, a media center and a park will appear in the city, and the buildings that have been smashed almost to the ground have already been demolished.

Recall that the massive and solid presidential residence in Alma-Ata, built only in 1995, was completely destroyed and burned down in January of this year. The reconstruction of the facade of the building was planned for 2022, instead, experts who examined the residence after the fire concluded that it was not viable.

“Because of the fire and extremely high temperatures, metal elements, which are the basis of all load-bearing structures and the roof, were damaged. It is impossible to completely eliminate the smell of burning in the surviving fragments of the building. Moreover, today some of the structural elements of the object do not comply with current building codes and regulations. Huge capital investments will be required to restore the main structures of the building and its seismic reinforcement,” the Presidential Administration concluded. After that, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed an order to demolish the building. And this became one of the symbols of the fall of Elbasy’s influence in the country.

According to the idea of ​​the presidential administration, a square will appear on the site of a pompous gray building, where the townspeople can enjoy the coolness in the shade of trees…

The building of the TV channel “Kazakhstan” and the channel “Khabar” in January was set on fire and blazed for several days. The TV management hoped that it would be possible to restore it. However, a different decision was made. And this is also symbolic: the house of the country’s main media resource, which has been praising the deeds of Nursultan Nazarbayev for decades, burned down along with the residence of the ex-head of state, and was later demolished.

The TV channel’s office, of course, looked more modest than the president’s, but it could still serve. It was decided to build a new building, where branches of central television companies would move. According to the akim, “on the site of the destroyed building of the Kazakhstan TV channel, the construction of a modern media center has begun, with completion by the end of 2023.”

The main reason for the demolition of historical buildings was their allegedly outdated modification, construction errors and large-scale damage to metal structures. Experts have calculated that the restoration will be too expensive. However, the analysis of structures also cost the treasury a pretty penny. Not to mention the construction of a new building. It’s just that the country no longer needs these symbols of Elbasy’s power. And so they disappeared.