February 13, 2016

The Long Kiosk Goodbye


The Long Kiosk Goodbye
1931 Soyuzpechat kiosk

The words “architectural scandal” may sound like a contradiction in terms. But in a Russia grappling with post-Soviet identity, as well as its position on the global stage, the look of its monuments, city streets, and even sidewalks is a matter of national importance.

The latest ignominy is the destruction of 97 kiosks around Moscow, most of them small businesses near metro stations. What’s coming to be known as the “Night of Long Shovels” was allegedly motivated by the aim to remove dangerous or illegally built structures. But the fuzziness around the legality of the structures – not to mention the legality of their demolition by the blitzkrieg arrival of bulldozers on the night of February 9 ­– has led to more than a bit of debate.

A bit of the legal nitty-gritty: two months back, City Hall announced its decision to dismantle 104 kiosks and pavilions (more often called “samostroi,” literally meaning self-built, but with “shanty” connotations). That means owners had ample time to vacate and even self-unbuild their stalls.

Alexei Ionkin, an official at the Moscow state real estate inspectorate, said the permits for that land were only temporary. "They erected capital buildings while they weren't allowed to, and that's why we've deemed them squatter settlements," he said.

Sure, “temporary” goes back as far as 25 years in some cases, and most of the kiosk owners had the correct paperwork – or at least, correct (and exhaustive) when their building was completed. But when a decision is made "at the highest level," there’s little arguing to be done.

Whatever way you point your bulldozer, Russia’s got a generally quixotic relationship to architecture and historic preservation. Take Tsaritsyno, Catherine the Great’s eighteenth century red-brick retreat outside Moscow.

Tsaritsyno Palace (Credit: Helen Filatova)

It was "reconstructed" (translation: the unfinished complex was finished using modern methods and materials) under the auspices of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, as a glitzy palace with slight resemblance to Catherine’s original. Or the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, née a Soviet swimming pool, née a much less opulent Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Not to mention the botched renovations of Gothic bas-reliefs, from a St. Petersburg angel transforming into a “victim of lobotomy” to the disappearance of a Mephistopheles figure, allegedly because the demon faced an Orthodox Church.

In these cases and plenty of others, historical “preservation” would be better defined as tearing down old buildings and then building replicas with new materials and lots of imaginative freedom. Not to mention plenty of legal and bureaucratic manipulations to put it all under the label of “improvement.” Russia, after all, is a country that has spent much of its post-Soviet existence working out how history can be “improved.” And often enough, that rewriting is accomplished by denying the costs of various construction or destruction projects – whether those costs are in rubles or in lives.

With a view of legality that includes destroying the evidence and ignoring the consequences, the vanishing kiosks are none too surprising. Still, to keep things legal, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is on board with nullifying the kiosks’ existent paperwork. After all, what’s wrong with prettifying Moscow? He sees the demolition as a return to Moscow's “open, beautiful, beloved” squares and streets – you know, with those wide, sweeping, Stalinesque avenues. And he has a point, if you take a peek at pictures of pre-pavilion Moscow.

Krasnopresnenskaya Metro Station
Krasnopresnenskaya Metro station (Credit: Shakko, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quite a contrast to the look today.

Still, there’s the government’s alleged support of small businesses to contend with. President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev have both waxed entrepreneurial about the importance of small businesses, as captured in Sergey Elkin's cartoon of the two pundits pontificating in late 2015 about supporting small businesses. 

Text: Nov. 19, 2015: "Putin discusses the insufficient support for small businesses." Dec. 1, 2015: "Medvedev leads a conference about supporting small businesses." Feb. 9, 2015: The bulldozers speak for themselves. A hair salon and bakery are the targets. Follow Sergey @Sergey_Elkin.

That would seem to contradict the bulldozing, which may have left 2,000 people unemployed, based on figures from Moscow’s City Hall itself. If ten-square-foot pavilions selling flowers, ice cream, and pastries aren’t small businesses, it’s hard to say what is.

The Kremlin of February, it seems, would disagree. In the words of presidential administration head Sergei Ivanov: “These hellholes have nothing to do with so-called small businesses, because, as a rule, they serve as breeding grounds for crime and unsanitary conditions. Any business, whether small or large, must first be civilized.”

The road to civilization? Installing vending machines to provide items previously obtained in kiosks. After all, business can’t get much smaller than having no staff. Plus, Moscow is in the market for 1-billion-ruble renovations, after undertaking massive road reconstruction last year.

All these developments may mean a modernized Moscow on the surface, but for folks whose tax money and livelihood is getting bulldozed by the facelift, Moscow’s makeover may end up looking like a botched job.


Top image: 1931 Soyuzpechat kiosk, by Branson DeCou [Public domain]

You Might Also Like

Moscow's Last Great Fire
  • September 14, 2012

Moscow's Last Great Fire

Moscow's last Great Fire was 200 years ago, on September 14, 1812, in the wake of the Russian army's abandonment of Moscow. Debate continues to rage if the fire was accidental or set intentionally by retreating troops. And a misunderstanding of the scope of the fire's destruction hampers preservation efforts to this day. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }  
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955