Salaam Cinema Not to Leave Molokan Prayer House until Document on Its Protection Is Presented

After the record by the First Vice-President, M. Aliyeva, in her Instagram, in which she supported young people in the former Molokans prayer house, correspondents of pro-government TV channels began to frequently visit this building, the owner of which has recently started its destruction. Reports on Azerbaijani television inform viewers about the care of the state about old buildings in Baku, the leader of informal youth Salaam Sinema, photographer Ilkin Huseynov told Turan.

His supporters refused to abandon the old building on S. Rustam Street in Baku, to prevent the destruction of this architectural monument of the capital of Azerbaijan.

"Our movement arose organically and unexpectedly, caused by the actions of Azerbaijani capitalism, destroying monuments for the sake of personal enrichment. The owner of the building Valeh Gasymov, who is probably backed by other people, came here with several supporters and announced the termination of our cultural event. We have shown a new film here. In the presence of a Dutch documentarian and other foreigners invited to the film, Gasymov"s people interrupted the electricity supply. We were forced to watch the movie on the laptop screen. From the first day of the conflict with the owner, from whom we are renting the building, we were informed of his intention to demolish this building, and his people started destroying the stairs at our presence a few days ago," said the head of the Salaam Cinema youth group Ilkin Huseynov.

The term of the lease of the building by Salaam Cinema did not end; it will end on May 31. However, the owner decided to drive away the society before this date and began to destroy the building, in the renovation of which Huseynov invested about 10 thousand manat. And they repaired the house because they loved it and decided in any way not to allow the destruction of the former prayer house of the Azerbaijani Molokans. "I'm not sorry for the money. We want to arrange an art space here that is open to all," said I. Huseynov.

The story of Salaam Cinema began three years ago. Previously, they rented a room at the Vatan cinema, equipped it with their equipment and conducted film shows with the minimum cost of the tickets. They took money in order to recover the organizational costs. They showed the remaining passages of the first Azerbaijani documentary film Millionaires and Oil. The full version of the film is lost. Learning about the film screenings in a social network, young people flocked to them, and 200-250 young film fans recently gathered around Salaam Cinema. This year, in the winter, they rented the former Molokan prayer house.

Gasymov"s people faced the resolve of the young people who refused to leave the building. When the owner and his people began to beat the young, the boys and girls sat on the floor. On May 6, 30 people spent the night in the building to prevent its destruction. They made a fire in the courtyard, set up a samovar, played music and danced. This went on for two days. Unidentified people brought them hot food for 50 people. Moreover, they refused to give their names and just took the food out of the car and handed it over to the picketers.

"Now unknown people come to us, we invite our neighbors so that everyone can be convinced of our open intentions. We do not drink alcohol, do not distribute political slogans, we just want to preserve this building. We are ready to leave it after we receive a document about taking the house under state protection as an architectural value. The building should be withdrawn from Gasymov"s property, as he intends to destroy it. He is powerful and can bribe the judges, get the building declared emergency and demolish it. So far, apart from the statement of the Vice-President, there are no other grounds for believing in the rejection of the intention to destroy the house. We do not claim ownership of the historic building, and we believe that it is fair to return it to Azerbaijani Molokans so that they can hold religious ceremonies in it. We met and talked about it with the Molokans. It is clear that we will not allow the destruction of the building," Ilkin listed the requirements.

The guys are waiting for the building to be given the official status of an architectural monument. They demand recognition of the privatization of the building that has always been public as illegal. Young people themselves have eliminated the emergency situation arranged by the owner, who stopped the water supply because of which the toilets became unsuitable for use. The power supply was interrupted and the youth installed a diesel generator set. Ilkin was reported by phone that the question of the status of the building is being considered. "The case of the Molokan house" is entrusted to the Youth Foundation, which is in contact with Ilkin," he said.

He expressed gratitude to the press and even to the television channels that came to them after M. Aliyeva"s statement.

In the photo: I. Huseynov together with his wife and companion Leyli.