The Committee for the Protection of Monuments (KGIOP) has altered the protected status of the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg State University, amidst a large-scale modernization project involving plant relocation and removal. An order reflecting these changes was published on the St. Petersburg government website on June 3.
The adjustments made by KGIOP have been a subject of debate within the botanical community for over a month. Supporters of the reorganization, which includes building restoration, new greenhouses, a water cascade, and new plant collections, acknowledge the necessity for changes to the protection status. Conversely, critics of the plant removal and potential destruction have expressed concerns about the implications of these changes.
Under the new order, several herbaceous plants are no longer under protection. These include: autumn crocus, common butterbur, Rosenbach’s onion, moonwort, prickly shield fern, thin-leaved peony, avoiding peony, Siberian squill, ostrich fern, wild tulip, noble corydalis, and male fern.
Numerous other plant species, including trees and shrubs, remain protected, such as Japanese cercidiphyllum, Amur velvet, European beech, Rumelian pine, and Manchurian aristolochia.
The phrase “historical species composition based on landscape inventory materials,” as well as specific plant locations within the garden, have been removed from the protection criteria.
Significant changes have also been made to the description of the garden’s protected hydraulic system. The “outline of the coastline” has been removed, and the historical periods to be preserved have been more clearly defined. For example, the staircase descent must retain its 1953 location, with steps made of natural stone. The pond should maintain its 1861–1868 appearance.
The modernization plans include a system of water cascades, a stream with an island, and a pond. The historical grotto will be improved using stone from the Far East.
The description of the grotto has been adjusted, with the removal of phrases such as “historical architectural and artistic solution” and “with stone masonry ‘broken stone’, limestone material, tuff.” Only the grotto’s location (as of 1914-1917 and 1950) and the use of natural stone are now protected.
The description of the pedestrian bridge has been shortened, with only its historical location now under protection. The historical dates of other objects have been clarified.
The project is funded by Sberbank, which invested 1.1 billion rubles in 2024 alone.
During the modernization, approximately 1,000 shrubs, 300 trees, 100 vines, and 60 semi-shrubs will be transplanted, some to the Otradnoye scientific and experimental station of the BIN RAS, and others to different university land plots. Around 1,200 self-sown plants, 60 trees, and 400 shrubs deemed unsuitable will be removed.
At a press conference in April, experts addressed concerns about the changes. The Dean of the Faculty of Biology emphasized the importance of the project for student education and scientific research. The director of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dmitry Geltman, highlighted that a botanical garden is primarily a scientific collection.
Alexey Mikhailov, Chairman of the KGIOP, stated that buildings and gardens require different protection approaches due to the susceptibility of plants to transformation over time.