President Viktor Yanukovych might soon become the only visitor of the Magarach vineyards located by Otradnoe village in southern Crimea, in close proximity to what is believed to be the president's private summer residence.
Tagir Ramazanov, head of
the Scientific society of growers and winemakers rang the alarm bell
in the Crimean media on May 16, saying that demolition of the old
Magarach winery has started.
Magarach winery is a part
of the National Institute of Graves and Wine, and it’s not the only
part of it that has been destroyed recently. In 2012 some of the
institute’s employees were fired and a unique wine collection that
had bottles dating to 1836 was removed. Some of these wines are
listed in the Guinness Book of Records as “the oldest Russian
wine.”
Up to 22,000 bottles were
shipped to a different location, according to last year’s
investigation of the Crimean Center for Investigative Journalism. The
emptied cellar, which is 180 years old, is now in danger of being
destroyed as well.
The Crimean journalists
reported that the institute’s museum, tasting room and equipment
for making the Ukrainian version of Madeira wine have been demounted.
Magarach’s experimental winery was moved to Livadiya, a close-by town
where the National Institute also has properties.
Crimean investigative
journalists discovered that the possible reason behind the sudden
relocation of Maragach is because of a private residence which is
traced back to President Yanukovych.
The president’s Crimean
dacha was visible from some of the institute’s buildings. A
luxurious house, known locally as Yanukovych’s Tea House, had been
built on the land that used to be Magarach’s old collection of
grape vines.
In the early 2000s, the
National Agrarian Academy voluntarily gave up its ownership of this
precious land plot, and since 2008 it has been leased by Pansionat
simeynogo typu (Family-type pension) LLC.
The company has been
traced to Yanukovych’s own family through some key management figures and
co-owners who also feature on the list of Tantalit and Dom Lisnyka,
the two companies tied into the complicated scheme of ownership of
Mezhygirya, the president’s residence outside of Kyiv. Edelweiss,
another company that features in the ownership structure, has been
officially confirmed by Yanukovych’s oldest son Oleksandr as his own.
Yanukovych’s Mezhyhirya
residence and the vast area of land around, was also acquired from
the state through a series of controversial and potentially corrupt
schemes, although the president has denied any wrongdoing. His
spokeswoman could not be reached for comment for this article.
Kyiv Post staff
writer Kateryna Kapliuk can be reached at
[email protected].
