Demolition of the building of the well-known Printing House No. 1 (Erkin-Too), located on 45, Erkindik Boulevard, between Chui Avenue and Kievskaya Street, started in Bishkek.
The printing house was built in 1931. Then it was called the House of the Press. Many newspapers and magazines were printed there in Soviet times. The Panfilov division was formed in the building during the war years, from which soldiers walked on foot to the railway station and left for the battlefields.
In 2015, Printing House No. 1, quietly and almost without explanation, was deprived of the status of an architectural monument. The Ministry of Culture stated that the object has lost its architectural, urban planning, historical and cultural value and was not subject to restoration. Until this time, the building could not be approached. It had the status of historical and cultural heritage of the capital.
It is known that in 2001 the State Property Management Fund held a commercial competition and sold 40 percent of the state-owned stake in Erkin-Too JSC (the company was headed by Kanybek Imanaliev then). About a year later, the fund sold the remaining 40.6 percent of the state-owned stake.
Another high-rise building is planned to be built on the land. But two private owners and holders of documents for the land did not agree with the proposal and have been suing the owners of the privatized Erkin-Too OJSC for many years.
