Moscow's aristocracy was famous for the magnificent estates it built just outside the city – and those that remain today are favorites for Muscovites wanting to walk and relax during the city's long summer days.

However, these same glorious estates are increasingly falling into disrepair or even dereliction, as a lack of city and federal funding has seen their overseers unable to maintain them.

Yelena Yeritsyan, the director of the Kuskovo Estate – located in the east of Moscow and renowned as one of the city's most beautiful – said that while the estate is better off than most, it still battles for survival.

"We can't complain, our park is one of the most visited in Moscow. Last year alone a million people visited here," she said. "But we still can't survive without money from Moscow. Culture is not a business."

The city government funds Kuskovo, like most estates and parks in Moscow, though there are also a few exceptions – properties that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. One such estate is Tsaritsyno, located in the Southeast of Moscow, which is overseen by the Federal Culture Ministry and beset by financial problems.

"The Federal Culture Ministry didn't provide any money for the restoration or maintenance of the Tsaritsyno Estate from 1996-2000 at all," said a Tsaritsyno official, who asked not to be identified.

Although officials will not reveal figures, experts put the annual upkeep of a typical Moscow park at tens of thousands of dollars – far more in some cases. Lev Traskunov, head of the parks and estates department in the city's Office for the Preservation of Monuments said: "Moscow's parks and estates receive much more [from the city] than Tsarytsino receives from the federal budget."

But some observers say that comparisons between the two are facile, because the city-funded estates are still left with little money and are falling into disrepair, if a little more slowly. "How is it that the city can pay for [Zurab] Tseretelli's statues but provides virtually nothing for the maintenance of its historic treasures?" asked one real-estate observer.

Indeed, even in the better-off city parks like Kuskovo or Kolomenskoye the situation is uninspiring. "We are not even in the same league as any similar European park," confessed Yeritsyan, director of Kuskovo. "Businessmen who come here with offers of investment are usually soon disappointed and leave. They want to make rapid profit off their investment, but culture can't return profits so quickly."

But there are some hardy souls out there who are trying to construct a commercial model for the estates, which would allow them to generate the sort of money required for their restoration and maintenance. One of these is the director of the Mikhalkovo closed joint stock company, Arkady Shaks. For several years he has been battling to preserve the Mikhalkovo Estate, located in the north of the city. Mikhalkovo was once the property of aristocrat Yekaterina Dashkova, who headed the Russian Academy of Sciences. The grounds at Mikhalkovo contain numerous architectural splendors from the 18th century and include an adjacent park. The manor itself fell into disrepair many years ago, and a complex system of ponds is also now shrinking. Meanwhile, nearby, the authorities built a textile factory and other Soviet eyesores.

Shaks wants to restore the entire estate to its previous glory. A new plan put together by the Mikhalkovo company was recently accepted by the city government. It includes several zones: a business center, entertainment zone, sports center and museum, the latter where the park and manor house are located. "That's the only way to earn money for restoring these cultural sites," said Shaks.

The proposed complex would take up 98 hectares, 10 of which would be devoted to the museum. The catch, though, is that the cost is estimated at $968 million. "We can't raise the sort of money required for the park's reconstruction, and the city will not provide it, either. So we decided we had to make the money ourselves," Shaks said.

"The combination of a business center and a recreation zone will generate enough funds to finance the establishment of the museum and the restoration of the original park."

Despite the project's massive price tag, the project's authors maintain raising the funds is feasible. "We have already met with several potential investors," Shaks said. "After we sort out the property rights for the area with the Moscow government we will be able to talk more about concrete steps," he added.

(E-mail building blocks at dmitryb@russiajournal.com)