Reconstruction of the Central Moscow hippodrome: pros and cons

The participants of the round table “Reconstruction of the Central Moscow Hippodrome and the most important problems of trotting horse breeding as a cultural heritage”, which was recently held in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, tried to find an answer to the difficult question: what comes first – the preservation of the monument or the preservation of horses and the interests of the horse breeding industry as a whole.

The event was organized by the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation for the Development of Culture and the Preservation of Spiritual Heritage together with the Club of Trotting Horse Breeding Fans. At the end of August this year, the Moscow authorities approved the project for the reconstruction of the Central Moscow Hippodrome (CMI). The removal of horses from the hippodrome should begin this autumn and should be gradual: riding and non-core horses will be taken away first, and horses of trotting breeds (there are just over 500 of them now) will be the last to leave the CMI and should be the first to return after reconstruction. During the reconstruction they will be placed at the regional hippodromes.

It is planned to complete the reconstruction of the CMI by the end of 2024, but this 2-3-year break in its work, according to the majority of experts who took part in the discussion, can have the most detrimental effect on the state of affairs in the industry, reduce the number of horse owners, hit stud farms. This was stated in particular by the honored builder of Russia, horse owner Georgy Makarevich:

“The proposed two-year break in the work of the CMI will reduce the number of horse owners and hit the stud farms, a large number of trainers and service personnel will be irretrievably lost, and training of such service personnel is currently not being conducted anywhere. The hippodromes proposed for relocation are in the most deplorable state and are absolutely not ready to accept or test the livestock of trotters taken out for the period of reconstruction.”

He also recalled that the elite part of the Russian livestock was collected at the CMI, which determines its most important role in testing domestic trotters. According to him, the entire industry is now held on by a thin thread of enthusiasm of individual horse owners, and meanwhile, 12 billion rubles are expected to be spent on the proposed reconstruction – this is more than all the funds allocated to equestrian sports in Russia since the “perestroika”.

The architect (an employee of the National Association of Designers and Surveyors) and horse owner Marina Velikanova dwelled on the analysis of the general design of the upcoming reconstruction in more detail in her speech. At the beginning of her report, she recalled that the CMI consists of 3 zones: 4 treadmills; a historical tribune, restored after a fire in 1947 by architect Ivan Zholtovsky, and stables.

“The tribune really needs to be restored, as it is practically in disrepair,” said Marina Velikanova.

However, in the project, according to her, next to the building of the historical stands, it is planned to build a building of approximately the same height – an additional VIP stand and a revision of the plan of the tracks; it is also planned to organize a deep car parking and a jumping field in the center of the circle, which, in the opinion of professionals, is unacceptable. In addition, the new project involves the construction of another arena for non-core horses from the equestrian club, which is located on the territory of the CMI, and all these new buildings reduce the hippodrome area by a quarter (by 10 out of 42 hectares). According to Marina Velikanova, the design did not take into account the specifics of working with trotting horses, as well as the safety criteria for testing horses of trotting breeds. According to her, the CMI really needs to be repaired, but these works can be carried out consistently, without the complete closure of the hippodrome and the removal of horses:

“CMI is our national treasure, it is a symbol, it is a unique and original building, it is the first trotting hippodrome in the world, so we should not lose it. We will lose both the Oryol trotter and the Russian troika. That is, let’s say that we must preserve the hippodrome precisely as a cultural heritage, and in the Year of Cultural Heritage, the destruction of the Central Moscow Hippodrome cannot be allowed.”

In the role, perhaps, the only supporter of the proposed reconstruction was the Deputy Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow, Yulia Loginova. She reminded the participants of the round table that the CMI building, which is an object of cultural heritage of regional significance, is in some places, to put it mildly, in disrepair.

“Horses are, of course, yes, but the preservation of the monument, from my point of view, is primary. If we do not begin its comprehensive restoration in the near future, we will lose this building. The building is unfrozen; the building fragmentarily does not have all the technical equipment; there has never been a reconstruction of the road networks; The roof of the building is in poor condition. Most of its premises are now functionally unused. Most of the interiors, unfortunately, are built up with late partitions and reconstructions, and we can see little of the genuine Zholtovsky inside, ”said Yulia Loginova.

The results of the discussion were summed up by Grigory Zaslavsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation for the Development of Culture and the Preservation of Spiritual Heritage. He noted the importance of the event and its unusualness within the framework of the commission’s work:

“I don’t think there was anything like it. It seems that horses are agriculture, animal husbandry, sports, but our interlocutors did the right thing by contacting us, because in the Year of Cultural Heritage, talking about preserving the Oryol trotter breed is the right decision.”

In his opinion, it is important that the conversation turned into a public space, because now many are worried about the fate of the CMI as an architectural monument, a cultural monument in the broadest sense.

“A lot of cultural figures were passionate fans of racing. Once upon a time, the second generation of the Moscow Art Theater spent almost all their free time there. It was a very important part of the cultural leisure of several generations of Soviet people. Here, even the preservation of rates acquires an important, not only commercial relevance. Commerce is the last thing to worry about – we thought about the cultural side of this process,” recalled Grigory Zaslavsky.

Concluding the event, he said that the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation would prepare recommendations to the relevant authorities as soon as possible based on the results of the round table.

Sergei Ishkov.