In an article for The Guardian, Maryam Omidi explores Moscow's Door19, a place where "Damien Hirst and David LaChapelle artworks adorn the raw concrete walls," "flair bartenders serve up gem-coloured cocktails," and "a rotation of Michelin-starred chefs flown in from around the world curate new menus each week." It is indicative, she argues, of what Kuba Snopek (a lecturer at the Strelka Institute) describes as "hipster Stalinism" - a surge of redevelopment in certain parts of Moscow that cater to the 'oligarchs', wealthy creatives and Muscovite 'hipsters'. At Door19, for example, apartments sell for between $15,000 and $20,000 per square metre.
Urbanism has also benefited from fast-paced renewal with the successful regeneration of Gorky Park, a project overseen by Culture Minster Sergey Kapkov. It has itself instigated a number of other projects to rejuvenate public space in the city, but these have often coincided with civil political tensions.
Read Omidi's article in full here.
