Transfiguration Market

The Preobrazhensky market is a grocery market in Moscow , in the Preobrazhenskoye district on Preobrazhensky Val street, 17 ^{[2] [3]} .

Market
Transfiguration Market
Entrance to the Transfiguration Market, 2017
A country	Russia
Location	Moscow , Preobrazhensky Val street, 17, 01 Preobrazhenskaya Square
Established	1932 year
Status	Acting
Website	tkpreobr.ru

External Images
Transfiguration Market
	Panorama of the Transfiguration Market
	Trading pavilions at the Preobrazhensky market [1]

The Preobrazhensky market was founded in 1932 on the site of the demolished cells of the Old Believers Preobrazhensky monastery . Due to reasonable prices and high quality products have always attracted not only residents of nearby areas, but also people from all over the city. During the Great Patriotic War, the opportunity to exchange personal items for products on the Preobrazhensky market saved many Muscovites from starvation ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} .

During Soviet times, the market did not change much, representing a lot of street shopping malls and indoor pavilions with seasonal fruits and vegetables. Since the 1990s, he continued to work as a state unitary enterprise . Nevertheless, here, as in many trading floors in Moscow, there was a problem with organized crime . In February 1997, the director of the market, Anatoly Kuzmin, who had been heading him since 1988, was killed; the murder was associated with professional activities ^{[6] [7]} .

Also, after the collapse of the USSR, the Preobrazhensky Old Believer community restored its work: in fact, the market continued to operate in close proximity to the monastery and the Preobrazhensky cemetery ^[8] .

Throughout the 2000s, the issue of closing the Preobrazhensky market or its transfer from the monastery territory was repeatedly raised. In addition, a spontaneous flea market was organized on the street rows, there was a problem with illegal trade. In 2007, the idea was put forward that the market would relocate to the nearby bus depot No. 4 with the subsequent organization of a museum of Old Believer culture, but work was never started ^{[8] [3] [9]} .

In November 2009, an attack on journalists of the Rossiya TV channel occurred on the Preobrazhensky market. Correspondent Alexander Karpov was filming a report on the illegal drug trade and asked the market leadership for comment, after which a fight broke out between the film crew and the guards ^[10] .

In 2011, the land under the Preobrazhensky market was excluded from monastic property by order of Rosokhrankultura , which made it available for possible development ^[11] .

In March 2012, the market was burning. Ignition began in one of the storage rooms, people were evacuated from one of the pavilions, the malls did not have time to suffer. A year later , Moscow authorities again started talking about the possible closure or postponement of shopping arcades in accordance with the federal law “On Retail Markets”, which prohibits open-air trade from January 1, 2015. The question of the final location of the market remained open ^{[12] [13]} .

In April 2016, another fire occurred on the market. The fire covered one of the fish shops, the fire area was 80 m² , there were no injuries. In the summer of that year, rumors began to circulate again about the possible closure of the Preobrazhensky market due to the growth of unauthorized trade, the deterioration of the sanitary condition of the territory and the criminal situation . Local residents opposed radical measures by drawing up a petition to the State Duma and turning for help to the deputy from the United Russia party Anton Zharkov . At the request of the townspeople, the market was saved, plans for further improvement of the territory were approved ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]} .

In 2017, information was circulated in the media that land under the market is listed in official documents as a land for multi-unit buildings. On this occasion, activists of the Preobrazhentsy urban advocacy movement filed requests with the prosecutor’s office , city property department, and Rosreestr . They were supported by the chairman of the Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin , who noted that changes to the registry were made illegally, without preliminary hearings. Under pressure from the public in October 2017, the Transfiguration Market was officially returned to its destination ^{[18] [19]} .

As of 2018, the Preobrazhensky market continues to operate. It sells food products (fresh meat and fish, seasonal vegetables, fruits, berries, mushrooms), household chemicals, dishes, flowers, and a flea market runs on weekends. Unlike the Dorogomilovsky, Usachevsky or Danilovsky markets , it is not converted into a multifunctional urban space with food courts and public events; popularity among citizens is supported by low prices ^{[20] [21] [1]} .