Moscow’s first new park in 50 years vandalised just hours after opening

Moscow’s Zaryadye Park, the Russian capital’s first major new park in 50 years, has faced vandalism less than a day after opening to the public.

The park’s distinctive glass dome, which partially covers a philharmonic concert hall and is home to a diverse array of plants reflecting Russia’s varied climate and terrain, was damaged due to “the impact of some object,” according to engineering official Galina Gordyushina, quoted in an online statement by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

While the park will remain open to the public, Ms Gordyushina warns that repairing the dome, which encompasses 150 solar panels, will be “not only expensive but also requires complicated technical work.”

“We are all, of course, very disappointed to see such a careless attitude toward the park’s objects and its botanical collection,” the park’s director, Pavel Trekhlyob, lamented.

Some social media users saw the funny side, at least.

Is there anything more Russian than opening a world class park and then immediately fencing it off? pic.twitter.com/vsLDlOw8gP

— Jake Rudnitsky (@Rudnit) September 12, 2017

Set around 200 metres east of the Kremlin, Zaryadye Park is located on the former site of the Rossiya Hotel, formerly the biggest hotel in the world. The park’s “wild urbanism” theme was conceived by New York based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the team behind New York’s elevated High Line park.

Source: The Moscow Times