Like bees claiming hollow trees, small and medium businesses have swarmed over 500 city-owned properties since April 2024—a golden harvest of brick-and-mortar opportunities. Deputy Mayor Vladimir Efimov revealed the figures with the satisfaction of a chess player who'd just shortened his opponent's clock: "We slashed the mandatory rental period from two years to one," he said, "unlocking doors faster than a locksmith on overtime."
Where bureaucracies typically move at glacial speeds, Moscow's property machine has churned out deals covering 61,000 square meters—equivalent to stacking 10 football fields vertically. The city's Property Department head Maxim Gaman emphasized the sweeteners: "Market prices? Yes. But we're handing out seven-year payment plans like candy—no credit sharks circling." The result? A near-perfect adoption rate, with 99% of eligible tenants biting.
This isn't merely policy—it's urban alchemy. The city transmutes municipal concrete into private enterprise gold while entrepreneurs, no longer serfs to landlords, build equity instead of paying tribute. As one bureaucrat quipped off-record: "We're not selling real estate. We're selling roots."
