The Moscow Department of Trade and Services ordered to keep all the existing newspaper kiosks. However, the Press Distributors Association is concerned that two thirds of the newsstands can be relocated from busy streets to courtyards under the pretence of easing the traffic. Print media distributors are afraid of losing customers; meanwhile the Moscow authorities are promising to give all the bus stop kiosks to them.

The head of Moscow Department of Trade and Services, Michael Orlov, sent a letter to the deputy prefects of trade and services on March 11th. In his letter, Michael Orlov is quoting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s order "to not remove the newsstands and to fully integrate the newspaper kiosks in the new kiosk allocation plan."

The Press Distributors Association (PDA) confirmed that the Moscow newspaper kiosks are not going to be demolished. However, now there is a different problem. Newsstands might be relocated from busy streets to courtyards. The Chairman of the PDA Board, Alexander Oskin, explained that it is Moscow Department of Transportation’s way  of easing the traffic. According to Mr. Oskin, about two thirds of the Moscow newsstands can be moved to courtyards and that will inevitably lead to a significant decline in customers and therefore sales.

According to the Moscow Publishers Union, there are 2,464 stationary and 244 mobile newspaper kiosks in Moscow. Most newsstands are located in South-Eastern (367) and North (348) districts, least of newsstands are found in Zelenograd (56) and West (220) districts. The PDA is currently trying to get a permission to replace the existing kiosks with the new ones (designed by the Moscow City Architecture Committee) not all at once but gradually over a period of 3-5 years. Print media distributors are also urging to change the design of new newspaper kiosks because the proposed newsstands are way too expensive (starting from half a million rubles) and inefficient (only two to three times less publications can be displayed).

Source: PDA Press Service