Belsky Scolds Officials Over Demolition of Shopping Center

A bill on new fines for illegal trading facilities passed its first reading in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly. During the discussion, speaker Alexander Belsky sharply condemned the work of the property control committee.

The document stipulates fines for placing non-stationary trading facilities (NTFs) without a signed contract in designated trading areas. Special attention is paid to subtenants. According to Smolny (the city administration), in half of the detected cases of illegal trade, it was conducted by entrepreneurs who rented facilities without proper registration. In 2023, there were 204 such cases out of 465 violations, and in 2024 — 269 out of 542.

Deputy Konstantin Chebykin asked acting committee head Mikhail Sergeyev about the demolition of the shopping center near the Primorskaya metro station, noting that the area now looks «like a bomb site.» Speaker Belsky supported his colleague, stating that the agency acts without analyzing the consequences. «You destroyed a part of the building and went to court. What are you guided by? Why did you go there? I have been asking for two years to remove a vape kiosk near Gostiny Dvor, it hasn»t been demolished, but you managed to wreck the building near Primorskaya and go to court. What did you want to achieve?« he said.

Belsky added that deputies ask such questions because residents turn to them, and this year there are elections, and United Russia supports the city government.

«You should be ashamed. You manage the city. People trust you. Your arguments are worth nothing compared to what you have done there,» continued the parliament head. He demanded the name of the official who signed the demolition decision, but no specific name was given.

Sergeyev replied that all decisions are made after consultations with other agencies and in accordance with procedures. He explained that the building owner went to court, which imposed interim measures, and the committee tried three times unsuccessfully to have them lifted.

Chebykin described the building as dilapidated, which «could collapse at any moment.» The deputies offered to help resolve the issue, to which Sergeyev promised to provide written information about the committee«s actions.

Recall that local activists had complained for several years about illegal trade near the Primorskaya metro station, where traders interfered with passage. In the summer of 2025, the authorities began demolishing the four-story building of the MaxiSopot shopping complex, which housed a pharmacy, a clothing store, and a computer club. The property control committee explained that the owner — entrepreneur Yakov Perkal-Provorny«s company — had an expired lease with the city, and the shopping center was registered in documents as a single-story kiosk. After the demolition began, Perkal-Provorny went to court, and the work was suspended.