St. Petersburg restaurant and bar owners announce plans to ‘resist’ coronavirus restrictions

Several dozen restaurants, bars, and cafes in St. Petersburg are opposing the restrictive measures the city authorities have introduced for the New Year holidays due to the coronavirus pandemic. As such, the businesses in question are refusing to recognize the city administration’s decree Number 121 and plan to maintain normal working hours over the holidays.

A list of establishments that refuse to comply with the restrictions has been published on a website called the “Resistance Map”:

These restaurants, bars, and hookah bars are continuing to work for guests as usual. If they were to comply with the decree, they would not survive and they would all close. Some establishments are working with closed doors. Write to them on social networks or call.

The organizer behind the project, entrepreneur Alexander Konovalov, told RBCthat more than 200 establishments have joined the project already. “It’s a simple calculation: if everyone works openly, there’s a greater chance that they’ll listen to us. Whatever sanctions there are, it’s still not death. And not working is death, no exaggeration. The authorities chose a blow worse than lockdown,” he said.

The St. Petersburg administration described Konovalov’s comments as “rhetorical dramatization.” “The work of restaurants hasn’t been stopped, they continue to do delivery, they have been offered collaborations with city street events,” spokespeople for the St. Petersburg governor told RBC.

• To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, restaurants and bars in St. Petersburg have been ordered to close from December 31 to January 3. From January 4–10, they can only open until 7:00 o’clock in the evening. Museums, exhibitions, and concert halls will be closed for the entirety of the New Year holidays. In addition, the municipal authorities have specifically asked residents of other regions to refrain from travelling to St. Petersburg.