Ilsur Metshin inspects the progress of improvement of Gorky Park

The turning loop between the Arskoye cemetery and the monument after reconstruction will become a green area

By August 30, two-year works on the landscaping of the entrance group and the territory at the Eternal Flame of Gorky Park will be completed. The Mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, took part in a meeting at the facility in preparation for the BRICS events. Granite pavement will soon be renovated at the monument, flower beds will be installed and a thousand roses will be planted.

“This year, thanks to the preparations for the BRICS summit, work is underway at 16 green points, one of them is the entrance group of Gorky Park. For the first time, large-scale landscaping was carried out for the millennium anniversary of Kazan, the next one for the 2013 Universiade. The city is growing, followed by the demand for this park, there is a large flow of people, so there was a need to improve the entrance group and renovate the underground pedestrian crossing. In addition, we are faced with the task of restoring the historical appearance of the memorial composition as much as possible. As of today, a third of the work has already been completed. They will be completed by the end of August,”-Ilsur Metshin said.

Work on laying granite pavement at the entrances and stairs to the monument of the memorial complex will begin next week. Preparatory work is currently underway to install hidden subsystems for fixing granite. Three types of new granite will be used on the monument – gray rock, black galaxy and royal white – in two colors (dark and light). This coloring was chosen based on historical photographs by the architects of the project. This granite is resistant to high and low temperatures, durable and indelible even with heavy traffic, and is also incredibly beautiful.”

The stele does not require renovation. Its good condition is confirmed by a survey of the condition of the monument. The inscriptions on the monument, the star at the Eternal Flame and the backlight, where many elements already have defects, are planned to be replaced, preparatory work is already underway.

In general, the city faces the task of restoring as much as possible the historical appearance of the memorial composition of 1967 (it includes a sculpture of a fighter, a 30-meter stele and a bowl of Eternal flame) according to the photo archive and with the help of consultations of architects who know the project well. In general, the reconstruction of the monument was completed by 36%.

A flower garden with roses is being arranged on the square near the park – it will visually connect the square with the monument. It is planned to land on it a thousand roses. Last autumn, as part of the first stage of landscaping, lilacs were planted in tubs – due to the fact that an underground parking lot is located under the square, it will not be possible to plant trees, the supporting structures of the parking lot are not designed to place above them a sufficient layer of earth for trees.

The turning loop – the section between the Arskoye cemetery and the monument - will become a green area with bike paths. Work is being completed on laying a new pavement covering with landscaping on an area of more than one thousand square meters. An automatic irrigation system is also being installed on the green area, and the installation of a video surveillance system is half completed.