Restructuring the kiosk trade in St. Petersburg: A new retail trade model for the post-Soviet period

This study explores the commercial kiosk phenomenon as a reflection of the socio-spatial reordering of St. Petersburg following the introduction of market forces. In this article we interpret empirical evidence on the restructuring of commercial opportunity in post-Soviet St. Petersburg as a result of the emergence of the kiosk phenomenon. Kiosk trade and processes that contribute to it have emerged as tools for mass socioeconomic and psychological adaptation, following the dismantling of the communist regime. In our opinion, the emergence and continuing mutation of St. Petersburg kiosks constitutes the backbone of a process of middle-class formation. An extensive field research of 1989, 1994 and 1995 made it possible to study the dynamics of spatial structures of kiosk phenomenon. It is our final conclusion that kiosks will remain an important feature of St. Petersburgs commercial geography in the foreseeable future.