türkçe links to original Turkish article
(Sözcü Newspaper, 2 November 2025)
Why all the fuss!? ...Location, location, location.
A lawsuit involving a "yalı" (mansion on the Bosphorus) that was
bought in 1868 by Nikola İsveçin, who was then working at the
Russian Embassy in Istanbul, has been settled after a 17-year
legal battle. An Istanbul court has ruled that the "yalı" and its
2.5 acre plot of land rightfully belongs to İsveçin's heirs.
The 200-year -old "yalı" is located in Tarabya in Istanbul's
Sarıyer district. Many documents from Ottoman times had to
be examined in regard to settling the lawsuit to determine the fate
of the building that is valued at 1.5 billion TL (about $36.6 million).
According to information obtained by "Sabah" newspaper, the saga
of the "yalı" began during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I in the
middle of the 19th Century. Heme Landevoisin, the daughter of
Leon Auguste Landevosin, a lawyer and interpreter at the French
Embassy in Istanbul, and Madam Yakome, purchased the "yalı"
from Hristaki Efendi, a Greek, in 1841.
Before the Landevoisin family returned to France, they sold the
"yalı" to Nikola İsveçin (Nikolai İvanovitch Swetchine) in 1868
for 400,000 kuruş. İsveçin died on 6 June 1903, during the reign
of Sultan Abdülhamid II, and his relatives brought the body to
Nice, France, for burial there in the Caucade Cemetery.
Straight out of central casting.
However (!), in the records concerning İsveçin's death, the words
"died without assigning an heir" appear. During the reign of
Sultan Mehmet Reşad (1909-1918), the Sultan's decree ordered
that the "yalı" be leased to the Russian Embassy, but it was never
declared as Russian property.
The tumultuous events of the 20th Century concerning Russia -
the 1917 Revolution , the establishment of the USSR in 1922, and
the USSR's dissolution in 1992 created more confusion about the
"yalı"'s rightful owner. In any case, though, the "yalı" was
registered in the name of Nikola İşveçin in 1950.
The Turkish Treasury ruled in 2004 that since İsveçin died without
namin an heir, the "yalı" would be taken by the State. The lawsuit
then began, with the Foundations General Directorate asserting
that the "yalı" belonged to the Sultan Beyazid Foundation. Russia,
on the other hand, claimed in the lawsuit that the Russian Government
had paid the expenses of the "yalı" and that İsveçin was merely the
"trustee" at that time.
In the real estate world, it's known as "prime beef".
Then (!), İsveçin's grandchildren came forth in France, further
complicating the matter. The Istanbul court combined all the
related lawsuits into one, examined nearly 15 related decisions
rendered by the European Human Rights Court, more than 10
from the Turkish Constitutional Court and many other opinions
rendered by other Turkish courts.
The Istanbul court ultimately rejected the claims to the "yalı" by
the Russian Federation, the Turkish Treasury and the Foundations
General Directorate because İsveçin's heirs had come forth, namely
Aurelie Lecomte, Cedric Lecomte and Jean Ivan İsveçin
According to a certified family tree compiled by the French
Genealogical Research Office, Nikola Swedenin was born in Russia
in 1815 and died in Türkiye in 1903. His wife, Elisabeth
Alexandrovna Pestel, predeceased him in 1877. One of Nikola
Swedenin's two sons, Alexandra Nikolaevitch, died childless in
1936, leaving his inheritance to his nephew Nikola.
Nikola Swedenin's other son, Ivan Nikolaevitch, father of two,
died in 1936. His grandson, Dimitri Swedenin, died in 2014,
while his adopted son, Didier Lecomte Swedenin, died in 2005.
The only surviving members of the family are Didier's children,
Cedric Lecomte and Aurelie Lecomte Swedenin, and Nikola
Swedenin's son's grandson, Jean Swedenin. These three names
appear to be the heirs to the multi-million dollar estate.
Tarabya (Therapia) is just above the "C" on the map.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder