First published: 09/08/05.

Anonymous

Kazan Kremlin

Kazan Kremlin (Inscribed)

Kazan Kremlin by Els Slots

It is very questionable how legitimate are the criteria of Kazan Kremlin inscription in the World heritage list. The true story is that in 1552 the Tatar fortress was completely destroyed by the Russians. No single monument or structure on the territory of Kazan Kremlin survived the invasion. The new fortress was built from scratch. That is why there is no way we can talk either of the "historical continuity and cultural diversity over a long period of time" or "the historic citadel represents an exceptional testimony of the Khanate period and is the only surviving Tatar fortress". Kazan Kremlin has been a piece of Russian Architecture until 2005 when a new Kul Sharif Mosque was finished. This fact itself is a violation of the World heritage site regulations. 5 years after the site was enlisted an entirely new object was built. It is claimed to be a "restoration" of the historic mosque that had been there before the Russian invasion, but no images or descriptions could be presented to prove the historcal or architectural links between the old and the new mosque.

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