Last Tuesday Mayor Luzhkov submitted a formal time-frame to the Moscow Government to remove food kiosks from the streets. In 2004, these establishments were banned around Metro entrances. Since then, there has been heated speculation that the shops would be forbidden on Moscow streets altogether.
The announcement gives some vendors until the end of the year to move out.
The mayor's plan still remains a statement of intent. Nothing has been signed or finalized, so nobody knows exactly who will be affected. However, the target of Luzhkov's kiosk sweep are reportedly the independent fast food stalls that specialize in hot meat dishes, like shaurma. What is unclear is who else will be affected. Another prominent food vendor is the Kroshka Kartoshka chain, which sells potato dishes from semi-permanent stalls.
Word on the street is hardly conclusive. Some speculate that only kiosks selling alcohol will be closed, while others say they have not heard anything conclusive.
"After hearing the news many have already closed their kiosks," says Almaz, a sales assistant at a kiosk in western Moscow. "As far as I know, only the wheeled kiosks will be closed."
The mayor's decision was apparently prompted by three significant factors: the aesthetic blot on the city's landscape; reports of food poisoning; and low quality of the food.
"The city's appearance has long been in need of restoration - oftentimes it is impossible to see the houses and the streets. Everything is blocked by the tents and the vending pavilions," the chairman of the board of the Consumer Society Federation, Dmitry Yanin, told Izvestia, a Russian daily.
It was practical considerations that prompted the Moscow government's 2004 decree, which sanctioned a clear zone around all metro stations. Following a suicide bomb attack at Rizhskaya station on August 31 2004, emergency services were unable to get to the scene fast enough because their way was blocked.
In June 2006, the popular shaurmas kiosks suffered another setback when the Department of the Consumer Market and Services bombarded the city administration with demands that fast food should be abolished from cafes and drive-thru windows.
Luzhkov is also upset that kiosk vendors evade taxes, and claims that the services they provide are readily available from supermarkets. Reaction to the announcement has been fairly muted. Some think it will make little difference and the vendors will carry on as before, while others are more concerned for the customers.
"If it happens, it will inconvenience people tremendously," says Venera, a kiosk proprietor. "People need these kiosks, especially in the morning on their way to work... when going to a restaurant is not feasible. I think that people will be outraged by the decision, so this won't happen."
Tom Washington and Olga Yakimenko
