THE NATIONAL LIBRARY: LUKASHENKO'S DIAMOND OR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000640

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL BO
SUBJECT: THE NATIONAL LIBRARY: LUKASHENKO'S DIAMOND OR
MINSK'S LEANING BALL OF GLASS?


Classified By: AMBASSADOR GEORGE KROL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D)


1. (U) Summary: The June 9 grand opening of the Belarusian
National Library, a 23-story glass diamond-shaped monstrosity
on the outskirts of Minsk, was again postponed. Although the
authorities did not give a reason for the delay, independent
news sources expect it is related to the perennial problems
with the library's construction. Emboffs have heard
first-hand stories about the library's problems, including
high humidity, lagging computer systems, shattered windows,
and falling ice are a result of hasty construction and the
authorities' refusal to purchase quality technology. End
Summary.

Lukashenko's Diamond
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2. (U) In November 2002, Belarusian dictator Aleksandr
Lukashenko ordered the construction of Belarus' National
Library as a monument to his tenure as the first president of
Belarus. Built on what was once marshland, the library today
is a 236-ft tall building encapsulated in pane glass. The
first three stories house reading rooms and offices and serve
as a pedestal for the 20-story polyhedron, referred to as
"the diamond," that towers above and serves as a depository
with a 14 million-book capacity. The library has 18 reading
rooms to accommodate 2,000 visitors, 33 single-person rooms,
10 conference rooms, a 500-person conference hall, an
exhibition hall, a restaurant, health center, gym, beauty
parlor, and bars and cafeterias. The Library also contains a
suite of offices for Lukashenko.

Postponed Openings
--------------


3. (U) The National Library was to have its grand opening on
June 9, but was postponed to June 16. According to initial
plans, the library was to be finished in six years, but
several months into the project authorities demanded the
library be finished in three years and scheduled the grand
opening for September 2005. When fall 2005 arrived, the
library was still not finished and the opening was delayed to
the first weekend in May, then to June 9, and finally to June

16. Many blame the delays on unfinished construction, but
according to the independent press, Lukashenko plans to open
the library during the EurAsEc summit, with many CIS heads,
including Russian President Vladimir Putin, present.

Too Humid For Books
--------------


4. (C) Designer of the National Library Viktor Kramarenko on
June 12 assured journalists the library was ready for
operation, but added that due to the library's large size,
there would always be little problems that needed to be
fixed. Throughout the project, Emboffs have heard first hand
how "little" these problems can be. Minsk businessman
Vladimir Lukonin (strictly protect) owns an air-conditioning
company that won a million-dollar tender to install
air-conditioning units in the library. During several
meetings, Lukonin-trying to conceal his chuckles and
frustration-told Poloff of major deficiencies with the
library. First, authorities ordered Lukonin to install the
air-conditioning units in a much shorter time period than the
bid initially required. Second, they told Lukonin to install
manual units rather than automatics, which would FORCE the
library staff to adjust each unit by hand rather than through
a centralized computer system. Lukonin predicted this
decision would not help with the library's
already humid atmosphere of toxic fumes, due to paint that
was unable to dry.

The Leaning Glass Ball
--------------


5. (U) To silence widespread rumors that the library was
leaning, representatives of Minsk's architectural design
bureau in January told journalists that the peat layer under
the foundations of the library posed no threat to the
structure. According to the bureau, the 16-feet thick peat
layer was 118 feet deep and sandwiched between clay layers,
providing a solid foundation.

Death Ice On Glass
--------------


6. (C) Minsk's design bureau also announced it was searching
for ways to remove snow from the top of the diamond and
suggested using snow-melting equipment. According to one
architect, the snowcaps "misshape" the building. However,

MINSK 00000640 002 OF 002


Lukonin told Poloff that the snowcap problem was more serious
than architects were willing to admit. He said designers did
not anticipate that frozen chunks of ice would fall
20-stories and smash through the glass ceiling of the foyer
at the library's entrance. Lukonin said no one was injured
when it first happened and the builders replaced the foyer
panes with thicker glass, but Lukonin claimed ice chunks
falling 20 stories would still cause serious damage.

Wrong Materials
--------------


7. (C) Lukonin also informed Poloff that the grayish-blue
glass used on the Library was not part of the original
design. According to Lukonin, the leading architect ordered
gold tinted glass from a domestic manufacturer, but instead
received the grayish-blue glass. The architect proved to
disgruntled authorities that he had ordered the type of glass
stipulated in the design. The authorities, therefore, used
the mistaken glass for construction but refused to pay the
glass manufacturer's USD 8.2 million bill, causing his
business to go bankrupt.

A Belarusian Made Computer System
--------------


8. (C) On February 7, director of the Belarusian-American
software company Belsoft Dennis Shut (strictly protect) told
EconOff about the library's insufficient computer system.
Shut explained that GOB authorities wanted a
"top-of-the-line" software package produced by an Israeli
firm. Therefore, Belsoft, the licensed agent for the Israeli
company, submitted a bid. However, the GOB refused to pay
for software licensing or technical support and finally
cancelled the bid, arguing they could get the Belarusian
Academy of Sciences to build the system at a cheaper price.
Shut shook his head in disgust and explained that the
Belarusian-designed computer system lacked many things,
including an integrated network controlling the humidity.

Flying Books
--------------


9. (SBU) A local Embassy employee informed Poloff of stories
she heard from her friend who works as a librarian at the
National Library. According to the librarian, the library
has a conveyer system to move books from room to room and is
suspended from the ceiling, hanging above the heads of the
library staff and visitors in the quiet reading rooms. The
noisy conveyers move the books at such high speeds that books
are frequently flung from the conveyer, hitting the heads of
people sitting below.

Calling The Student Brigades
--------------


10. (U) The authorities are not just relying on the builders
and librarians to see the project to completion. In January,
Deputy Minister of Culture Valery Gudroits told reporters
that soldiers, police, and students were expected to help
relocate over 8 million items from the old National Library
to the new facility. Independent news sources have reported
that students and salaried workers (including librarians) are
often sent to the National Library on Saturdays, without pay,
to help finish the construction of the facilities. Those
involved have reported windows shattering for no apparent
reason, leaks in the climate-control system in the rare books
department, and a computer system that still does not work.
According to press reports, even if the library were to be
officially opened in June, only a small section would be open
to the public.

Comment
--------------


11. (SBU) People have jokingly, but with some seriousness,
predicted the library could one day topple over and roll into
downtown Minsk. A TDY OBO building inspector in 2005 told
Emboff that from first glance, the library's architectural
design looked unsound and rumors have long circulated that
the designers did not take into account important facts, such
as the weight of the books, when constructing the building.
Deputy Culture Minister Gudroits called the library a "big
brain" that no other CIS country had. A better description
could be a malfunctioning brain and an eyesore for Minsk-but
an appropriate monument to Belarus' first and still only
president.
Krol