It has long become customary for Muscovites and guests of the capital that many underground passages, especially those leading to metro stations, are filled with retail outlets. In these kiosks, stalls sell pastries and drinks, cigarettes, newspapers and magazines, flowers, clothes and shoes. Sellers of fruits, vegetables and herbs are often located there.
Trade in underground passages is regulated by the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights" dated 09.01.96 and the rules for the sale of certain types of goods approved by the Government of the Russian Federation dated 19.01.98, as amended on 20.10.98, 02.10.99, 06.02.02, 12.07.03 and 01.02.05. To obtain a trade permit, the owner of a retail outlet must conclude a lease agreement and coordinate sanitary and fire safety measures with the authorized bodies, that is, it is necessary to obtain licenses and certificates.
Since the inception of underground trade and up to the present day, disputes have not subsided: what is more from this phenomenon, benefit or harm? On the one hand, underground trade gives jobs to tens of thousands of Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region, many passengers of the Moscow metro use its services. And these passengers, by the way, are about 9 million people a day! In addition, the rent for these retail outlets replenishes the city budget. On the other hand, there is a thriving trade in counterfeit and often frankly low-quality products. Kiosks installed along the walls of underground passages noticeably narrow them, which causes inconvenience to passengers, especially during rush hour.
Especially a lot of criticism of the underground trade was voiced after the terrorist act committed in 2000, in the passage under Pushkin Square. The fact is that most of the victims were injured not from the blast wave itself, but from the glass fragments of trade booths and pavilions knocked out by it! The Moscow mayor's office then received a large number of complaints, demands to ban underground trade altogether. But the city administration chose a different path: the usual glass display cases of the kiosks were replaced with special shock-resistant ones, made in an anti-vandal version. Video cameras were installed, and the security of the crossings was strengthened.
Currently, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is pursuing a course towards a gradual reduction in the number of underground retail outlets. Of the 5,300 such places installed on the territories belonging to the Moscow metro, it is planned to reduce about 700, instead of which ticket vending machines will be installed. This measure was caused by numerous complaints from Muscovites and guests of the capital, not a lack of such machines, which creates queues at the ticket offices at metro stations. In addition to this, about 90 more outlets will be removed from the crossings belonging to the BSU "Gormost".
S. Sobyanin, pointing out that a lot of work has been done recently on the improvement of underground passages, at the same time demanded that his subordinates strengthen the fight against trade in counterfeit products, and figure out why BSU "Gormost" leases retail space to tenants at prices that are several times below the market average. According to the mayor, this means that the margin simply falls into the hands of all sorts of crooks.
