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Moscow authorities are trying to streamline trade on Old Arbat

Under the pretext of reconstruction of Arbat, where the relaying of paving stones had already begun, capital officials decided to completely shut down the traditional hawker trade in handicrafts on one of the capital's most popular walking streets among tourists. “Until the end of this week, small retail trade in souvenirs will be stopped on Arbat,” Interfax reported yesterday, citing a source in the city’s municipal services complex. In addition, portrait artists who have settled here will also fall under the hot hand of city modernizers of the appearance of Old Arbat.

According to the municipal services complex, the pedestrian street now houses 21 sites for small retail trade in souvenirs, 14 objects of the Arbat Artists association and about 30 points of portrait artists. But in addition to souvenirs and works of original craftsmen, you can also buy various household items here, from sunglasses to underwear. The mayor's office believes that such a large number of retail outlets “violates the appearance of the old city” and turns the city center into “one big flea market.” Therefore, all “pseudo-souvenir products” must be liquidated as soon as possible. However, Arbat will not become a trade-free, exclusively pedestrian street. Souvenir rows on Old Arbat, as planned by city officials, will supplant book stalls. “Publications on art, the history of Moscow, second-hand books, rare publications—that’s what will be of interest to Muscovites and guests of the capital,” says Sergei Baidakov, prefect of the capital’s Central Administrative District. And, despite the fact that both the new format and the product of trade on Arbat risk turning into “a banal collapse of selling cheap literary consumer goods,” officials firmly decided to part with souvenirs and artistic products on Arbat. Second-hand book kiosks, the design of which will be specially developed in accordance with the future updated appearance of Arbat, according to Mr. Baidakov, in any case, will fit much more harmoniously into the historical appearance of the place beloved by tourists. Let us remind you that the restoration project, which prefectural officials hope to begin next year, involves simultaneously bringing a modern gloss and returning the street to its former appearance, at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

The go-ahead to eliminate the “vulgar trade in nesting dolls” was personally given by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. As the head of the department of small retail trade, Evgeny Mityagin, told Vremya Novostey, in contrast to the planned reduction in the city's network of small retail trade enterprises since 2006, in relation to Arbat, “the mayor gave a specific instruction to the prefect of the Central Administrative District at a specific address.” And it’s hard for officials to argue with this, although the department does not rule out that they will try to stand up for the souvenir trade, which is a priority for the city’s tourism industry.

As for the artists, they are confident that their exceptionally creative work will be bypassed by the city hall’s plans. “This is our street,” says Vyacheslav Dotsoev, a representative of street portrait painters, “and our activities are not connected with commercial activities; portrait painters work, as they say, exclusively for voluntary remuneration.” According to Mr. Dotsoev, the “practicing sitter” chooses the place where to put the easel himself, especially since artists already have a practice of defending freedom of creativity in court.

Yulia KHOMCHENKO