In Mogilev, an entrepreneur created a "place for making wishes come true." Authorities forced her to remove it
The owner of a shop on pedestrian Lenin Street in Mogilev placed a carpet on the building's facade, serving as an unusual photo zone where one could make a wish. The city authorities did not like this.
Carpet with the inscription "A place to make a wish" on the wall of a house in Mogilev. Video screenshot
The initiator of the unusual object on the city's main pedestrian street was the owner of the "ArtSlon" store. She placed a carpet with the inscription "A place to make a wish" on the wall near the entrance to her retail outlet. According to the author's idea, this object was supposed to become an attraction for tourists and passers-by.
However, it hung for only one day — the city authorities demanded its removal from the facade. The officials' demand caused outrage and misunderstanding in the woman.
In a video recorded for Instagram, she recounted that over fifty people approached the carpet, took photos, and made wishes within a day. The woman described the photo zone as "a small portal to childhood" and "an anchor of hope," where people would exhale, and "lovers promised each other eternity." She even mentioned an old woman who cried near the carpet, "remembering that she was still alive."
“They said that it [the carpet] spoils the architectural appearance of the building. [...] Where is the beauty we ruined? Where are these perfect facade lines that are more important than a human heart? The street is dying without small businesses and emotions. [...] Do we need places for wishes to come true, or do we just need gray walls? [...] I will not go into conflict, but I want to show that we want to live in a fairy tale, not in a paragraph of landscaping rules,” declared the author of the photo zone.
Comments supported the entrepreneur and criticized the city administration. They wrote that the carpet "lifted spirits" and was "a highlight of this street," which was even filmed by Russian bloggers. Some commentators noted that "a blank wall turned out to be much more interesting than creativity and ideas," and complained that "the city has no 'highlights,' only repurposed ideas copied from other cities."
One user suggested "displaying it as a banner a meter from the building on a stand," so as not to officially touch the facade.
What kind of "gray" wall?
The wall, which the entrepreneur called "gray" and "empty," belongs to Vidorovich's House — an architectural monument from the early 1910s (Lenin Street, 40).
Vidorovich's House on Lenin Street, 40. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
This building is distinguished by its rich exterior decoration: its facade is adorned with stucco details, figural cartouches, garlands, and rusticated pilasters. It is an officially recognized historical and cultural heritage site within the historical center of Mogilev.
According to the Code of Culture, "scientifically unfounded alteration and deterioration of the conditions for perceiving immovable material historical and cultural values" are strictly prohibited on such objects, so the carpet has no chance of being permanently affixed to the main facade of the house.