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Meduza’s October 20, 2026, report revisits Moscow cultural and commercial landmarks that have closed, moved or face uncertain futures. The closures include the Khokhlovka arts district’s departure at the end of 2025 and long-running venues such as Propaganda, Powerhouse and Khodasevich; rising costs and redevelopment are among the pressures described, while some individual closure reasons remain unclear.
Meduza published a retrospective on October 20 documenting the closure, relocation or uncertain future of Moscow venues that shaped post-Soviet cultural life, including the Propaganda club, the Khodasevich bookstore and the Khokhlovka arts district. The report links the broader pattern to rising rents and other expenses and redevelopment, while noting that the reasons for some individual closures were not publicly established.
The report revisits a mix of clubs, bookstores, cafes and small commercial spaces that became familiar landmarks for residents and visitors. Some closed outright; others moved, and several have uncertain prospects. Meduza says many of the first generation of post-Soviet clubs and independent establishments lasted less than 15 years, while venues that survived into the 2020s acquired cult status.
At the Khokhlovka arts district in Kitay-Gorod, the remaining tenants left at the end of 2025, according to sources cited by Meduza. The site is now fenced off. A redevelopment plan by Moscow firm Ginzburg Architects calls for a commercial quarter with cafes and galleries after construction. The independent bookstore Hyperion had already left the area in 2022, and Meduza reports it is moving again.
Several other closures came between 2024 and 2026. Propaganda, founded in 1997, closed in 2024 after ending its Sanchez Thursdays parties the year before. Its announcement gave no specific reason. The Powerhouse club held a farewell party on March 14, 2026, after reporting that it had more or less broken even since the pandemic but was weighed down by debt. Khodasevich, which opened in 2012, said renovations meant it could not return to its basement premises. Its founder and an employee also described growing constraints on speaking out and selling books.
What Moscow’s Closures Change
The venues in Meduza’s report were not only businesses. They offered places to hear music, find independent books, meet friends and take part in cultural life outside larger institutions. Their closures and moves mark a change in the everyday geography of the city: familiar meeting points can disappear even when the activity or community around them continues elsewhere.
The causes vary. Meduza cites rising rents and expenses as broader pressures, while redevelopment has physically changed some locations. The report also records specific explanations from owners and staff: debt at Powerhouse, unprofitability at Lyudi kak Lyudi cafe, and renovation-related displacement at Khodasevich. Those distinctions matter; the article does not establish one cause for every closure.
For readers who have left Moscow, the report also documents changes to places tied to personal memories. For people still in the city, it describes a practical loss of established venues and raises questions about whether new spaces can sustain similar communities amid higher costs and changing conditions.
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From Post-Soviet Clubs to Redevelopment
Meduza places the venues in a longer history. In the 1990s and 2000s, independent clubs, shops and workshops occupied spaces that could be rented on short leases, sometimes amid unresolved ownership disputes. Khokhlovka’s former sheet-music printing house and the 17th-century Ukraintsev Chambers were among the properties rented cheaply while federal and local authorities contested ownership in court.
The Khokhlovka district supported businesses including the restaurant Moscow-Delhi and Hyperion bookstore. Moscow-Delhi moved to Patriarch’s Ponds in 2016 and remains open there, according to the report. Hyperion left Khokhlovka in 2022 when the chambers closed for major renovations. This history illustrates that a venue’s closure at one address does not always mean the organization has ended, although repeated moves can still disrupt its work.
The report’s timeline includes Propaganda, which began as a cafe by day and club by night in 1997, and newer venues such as Powerhouse and Entuziast, both opened in 2013. Meduza says the accompanying photographs were taken in early fall. Its account is a retrospective of selected sites, not a complete inventory of Moscow’s cultural venues.
“They’re closing our basement for major renovations, and they won’t let us back in.”
— Khodasevich bookstore, in an April 5, 2026, Telegram post
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Which Venues Could Return
The future of some spaces is unsettled. Meduza says it is unclear whether Entuziast will reopen after closing for what was described as extensive, lengthy renovations. Other accounts cited burnout among the people involved, but the report does not establish that as the definitive reason. Khodasevich is looking for another location, and the timing and details of its next move are not given.
Propaganda’s closure announcement did not explain why the club ended. The report identifies broader cost and redevelopment pressures but does not provide financial records or show that those pressures caused every closure. It also does not state when Khokhlovka’s planned construction will be completed. The available account covers selected venues and does not quantify how many Moscow cultural businesses have closed overall.
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Relocations and Site Redevelopment
The next developments are practical rather than tied to a single announced citywide plan. Khodasevich is seeking new premises, while Entuziast’s reopening remains uncertain. The Khokhlovka site is fenced and is slated for redevelopment as a commercial quarter with cafes and galleries under the plan described by Meduza; the report gives no construction timetable.
For now, readers can distinguish between venues that have closed, those that have moved, and those whose future is unknown. Meduza’s retrospective records the status of the sites as of its October 20 publication, but it does not announce a new round of closures or confirm what will replace every former venue.
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Key Questions
What is the news in Meduza’s report?
Meduza published a retrospective on October 20, 2026, about Moscow clubs, bookstores, cafes and other landmarks that have closed, moved or face uncertain futures.
Which well-known venues does the report cover?
Among the places covered are the Propaganda club, Powerhouse, Khodasevich bookstore, Lyudi kak Lyudi cafe, Entuziast motorcycle cafe and the Khokhlovka arts district.
Why are these places closing or moving?
Meduza describes rising rents and other expenses, redevelopment and venue-specific issues. Its examples include debt at Powerhouse, unprofitability at Lyudi kak Lyudi, and renovation-related displacement at Khodasevich. It does not establish a single cause for all the changes.
Are all the venues gone for good?
No. Some have relocated or are seeking new premises. Moscow-Delhi, for example, moved from Khokhlovka in 2016 and remains open at Patriarch’s Ponds, according to Meduza. Entuziast’s future is uncertain, and Khodasevich is looking for another space.
What is planned for the Khokhlovka arts district?
Meduza says the site is fenced and that a plan by Ginzburg Architects calls for a commercial quarter with cafes and galleries after construction. The report does not provide a completion date.
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