A dispute erupted in Yekaterinburg over demolished kiosks.

      Timofey Zhukov, a deputy of the Yekaterinburg City Duma, proposed amending the rules for the removal and storage of illegally installed non-stationary trading facilities (NTOs). In his view, the changes would help halt the mass dismantling of such kiosks and, in some cases, return previously removed pavilions. The initiative was submitted for consideration to the City Duma’s commission on economic development, URA.RU’s correspondent reports.

      However, the mayor’s office considered the deputy’s proposal to exceed the powers of the city authorities. Officials explained that Yekaterinburg operates in accordance with regulations approved by the government of the Sverdlovsk Region.

      Zhukov expressed concern about the decision of the Seventh Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction, which at the end of September 2025 overturned the regional authorities’ decree that had limited the lease term for plots under NTOs to two years instead of seven. According to the deputy, after that entrepreneurs may demand that contracts be extended at least until 2026 (if they were concluded in 2023), and may also demand compensation for demolished retail outlets.

      “Your proposal effectively intervenes in the competence of regional authorities and must be coordinated with the demolition procedure. In its current form this is an overreach of authority. The established procedure must be followed: prepare a draft, obtain conclusions, including from the legal department,” said Maksim Chaplygin, head of the consumer market department of the mayor’s office.

      He also recalled that federal legislation allows regions to independently determine lease terms, so they are not obliged to set them at seven years — a position the court also confirmed. Consequently, the return of dismantled kiosks is not planned, and demolition work will continue.

      As of early 2025, Yekaterinburg had more than 1,700 NTOs, with the lease term for 1,422 of them already expired. Contracts were not renewed because of violations in the placement of the facilities, which led to large-scale dismantling — from shawarma stands and bus stop pavilions to Rospechat kiosks. By the end of August alone, the city intended to remove about 300 such objects.