Many Muscovites who live in buildings under threat of demolition or who are concerned about Moscow’s built heritage in general, rarely know what kind of protection these buildings or areas enjoy. Russia’s legal system has been in a state of flux since the fall of Communism and many find themselves in a dark labyrinth of changing laws. Moscow is undergoing a building boom and Russia’s construction business is for from transparent. In such a climate it appears to be in the interests of the authorities to withhold information from the public, to safeguard against public interference that may obstruct new building projects. To fill this gap and serve as a point of reference, MAPS plans to publish information, in Russian and English, in a new section on our website – CODES.

We plan to include Moscow City and federal laws and codes concerning preservation, planning and the treatment of built heritage in Russia. We will also include international preservation charters. A complete set of Russian and international preservation laws, charters and codes is not at present available in Russia, either on the Internet or in print.

We will also try to publish a register of Moscow buildings with monument status. This empowers the inhabitants of these buildings to protect them when they are under threat of demolition, reconstruction etc. MAPS will continue to update CODES after its completion – adding new building codes and adding to the list of buildings with monument status, which changes permanently. We aim for the section to become an important reference point for all those involved in the preservation world in Moscow, professionals as well as people concerned about their own buildings and the city’s built heritage.

The funding for 'Codes' project is kindly provided by the Paul Khlebnikov Fund.