The post of chief architect of Moscow became vacant after Alexander Kuzmin announced his retirement in July 2012. The appointment of the new chief architect of the capital took place in mid-August.
The first information about who, most likely, will occupy the post of chief architect of Moscow, appeared a week before the new appointment. An unnamed source at the city hall said that Sergey Kuznetsov, who is the leading partner of the Speech Choban / Kuznetsov architectural studio, is likely to be appointed the main architect of Moscow. Earlier, the Vedomosti newspaper reported that the posts of the chief architect of the city and the head of the Moscow Architecture Committee, which had previously been combined by Alexander Kuzmin, would be divided. A source at the city hall confirmed this information, adding that the head of the Moscow City Architecture Committee is likely to become the deputy chairman of this department.
Information leaked to the press turned out to be reliable. At a regular meeting of the Moscow government, the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, announced that the 35-year-old Sergei Kuznetsov was appointed the chief architect of the capital and the deputy head of the Moscow Architecture Committee. The Moscow Architecture Committee will be led by Andrey Antipov.
The Moscow Mayor explained why the decision was made to separate the two posts previously combined by Alexander Kuzmin. According to Sobyanin, the chairman of the Moscow Architecture Committee is engaged in managerial work, he is not interested in creativity. The chief architect must work with experts, oversee the capital's urban development projects. The separation of posts will allow appointed managers to more effectively manage their responsibilities. The mayor also announced that an architectural council would be created under Sergei Kuznetsov. The new body should help the chief architect in his work, making it more open and transparent.
A lot of complaints have accumulated against the former chief architect of Moscow, primarily as a result of a very inhuman attitude to the architectural heritage of the capital. At the same time, there is an opinion that under the former mayor of the city, Yuri Luzhkov, it was the mayor who was the chief architect of Moscow, making decisions on the demolition or reconstruction of city buildings. It can be assumed that the emergence of an architectural council will continue to prevent a similar situation.
