TL;DR
Meduza’s October 20, 2026, report revisits Moscow cultural venues that have closed, relocated or face an uncertain future. The account documents closures and redevelopment, while attributing some explanations to former tenants and staff; the reasons and next steps vary by venue.
Meduza published a retrospective on October 20 documenting the closure, relocation or uncertain future of Moscow clubs, cafes, independent bookstores and other venues that helped shape the city’s post-Soviet cultural life. The report traces changes at places including Propaganda, Powerhouse and Khodasevich bookstore, against a backdrop of rising costs and redevelopment, while distinguishing stated explanations from accounts by former staff and tenants.
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The report says many of Moscow’s first post-Soviet clubs and independent businesses were short-lived, with most closing within 15 years. Some venues that survived into the 2020s became cultural touchstones for residents and people who have left the city. Meduza revisits those places through photographs taken in early fall and accounts of their histories, departures and closures.
Several developments are specific and dated. Powerhouse, a club and bar opened in a restored Taganka mansion, held its farewell party on March 14, 2026, after saying that it had been roughly breaking even since the pandemic. The building still houses a live music venue, now called Mesto Zangezi. Khodasevich, an independent bookstore selling rare editions and samizdat, said on April 5 that it had to leave its basement premises for major renovations and was searching for another location.
The report also recounts the closure of Propaganda, founded in 1997, and the nearby Lyudi kak Lyudi cafe in 2024. Propaganda gave no official reason, announcing that its story had ended; a resident DJ told Meduza he thought it was simply time. An employee attributed the cafe’s closure to unprofitability. Entuziast, a motorcycle cafe combining a repair shop, bar and vinyl store, closed in 2025 for what its owners described as extensive renovations. Whether it will reopen remains unclear.
What the Closures Mean for Moscow
The venues in Meduza’s account were more than individual businesses: together they provided places to hear music, buy independent books, meet friends and take part in the city’s cultural life. Their loss or relocation changes the physical spaces where that life took place, particularly for people who have left Moscow and associate the city with places such as Propaganda and Entuziast.
The reasons described are not identical. The report points to rising rents and other expenses and to redevelopment as wider pressures, but also records venue-specific explanations such as renovation, debt and unprofitability. In Khokhlovka, redevelopment will replace the former arts district with a commercial quarter planned to include cafes and galleries. The shift matters both to the businesses displaced and to readers trying to understand how the city’s cultural landscape is changing.
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From Khokhlovka to Taganka
Moscow’s post-Soviet cultural scene developed in spaces that were sometimes temporary or unusually affordable. In Khokhlovka, a former sheet-music printing house and the historic Ukraintsev Chambers were rented on short leases while authorities disputed ownership in court. Small shops and workshops took advantage of the arrangement. The independent bookstore Hyperion spent about a decade there before moving in 2022, when the chambers closed for major renovations; it is now preparing to move again.
Meduza reports that the remaining Khokhlovka tenants left at the end of 2025 and that a fence now surrounds the site. Under a plan by Moscow-based Ginzburg Architects, it is to become a commercial quarter with cafes and galleries after construction. Elsewhere, Propaganda’s run from 1997 to 2024 included 25 consecutive years of Sanchez Thursdays house music parties, which ended in May 2023. Those timelines show that the current losses follow a longer history of venues opening, moving and closing, rather than a single citywide shutdown.
“They’re closing our basement for major renovations, and they won’t let us back in.”
— Khodasevich bookstore, in a Telegram post on April 5, 2026
Which Venues May Return
The reported closures and moves do not establish one explanation for every venue. Propaganda announced no official reason; Timoshov’s comment was his own assessment. Khodasevich cited renovations, while its founder also described pressure on the bookstore’s ability to speak out. The report does not establish how much each factor contributed to individual decisions.
Some outcomes remain open. Khodasevich was looking for a new location, and Entuziast’s closure was described as a period of extensive renovations, but no reopening date or confirmed return is given. The Khokhlovka redevelopment plan is described, but the report does not provide a construction timetable. The supplied account also begins describing Ryumochnaya v Zyuzino but provides no completed details about its current status, so its future cannot be established from this material.
Moves, Renovations and Redevelopment
The next developments to watch are whether Khodasevich secures a new shop and whether Entuziast reopens after renovations. The Khokhlovka site is expected to be redeveloped as a commercial quarter with cafes and galleries, though no completion date is stated in the report. For the other venues, the account records closures and changes already made but does not announce further plans. Their future status will depend on updates from the businesses and the redevelopment project; no broader schedule for the changes is provided.
Key Questions
What is Meduza’s report about?
It revisits Moscow clubs, cafes, bookstores and other establishments that helped define post-Soviet cultural life, recording which have closed, moved or face an uncertain future.
Which prominent venues have closed?
The report says Propaganda and Lyudi kak Lyudi closed in 2024, while Powerhouse held its farewell party in March 2026. Khodasevich left its basement premises after being told renovations would prevent its return.
Why are the venues disappearing?
Meduza describes rising rents and other expenses, redevelopment, renovation, debt and unprofitability among the pressures or explanations reported. These do not apply equally to every venue, and some closures have no officially stated reason.
Will Khodasevich or Entuziast reopen?
Khodasevich said it was looking for another location. Entuziast closed for extensive renovations, but the report gives no confirmed reopening date or assurance that it will return.
Source: rss
