Udelniy flea market in St.-Petersburg: an open air museum

Location(s)
197317 Fermskoe shosse
Saint-Petersburg
Russia

A Russian flee market – what is it? In St-Petersburg there exists one very unique market, the flee market Udelniy. The market is interesting for many reasons: It is the only market of it’s kind in the city as all other flea markets have been closed by local government within the last 5-7 years. Udelniy emerged in the soviet times and existed illegally for about 50 years. During the hard times of Perestroika many dwellers of Petersburg and suburbs survived and supported their families through selling goods at this flea market. Many of them still are selling there; they need it, they love it. To them Udelniy is more than a market; it is their way of life.

What does this unique market look like? On the ground there are pieces of carton and old newspapers (the improvised “tables”) covered with many different items: Old clothes, crockery, dolls, cans, tools, vases, and other things, some of them are even impossible to identify. Everybody can find their own treasure, somebody’s red tie, a symbol and sign of belonging to Pioneer organization (a form of soviet scouts and youth organization of Communist Party), the ice-cream bowl from 70-s, “granny” old-style stocking form 60-s, old toys... It’s difficult to say what’s missing and that’s what makes this market so interesting! People selling at Udelniy call the venue an “open-air museum”. The most attractive thing (which marks the flea market as being different from an ordinary market place) is that all of the things being sold are unique. They all have their own souls, they are alive, they have their own histories and stories they are ready to tell to the attentive listener…

The strange thing about St-Petersburg flea market is that it fell into disrepute. It was rumored that the market was a dirty place where fishy people were selling stolen items and criminal goods. These rumors may have arose because of the illegal status the market had for many years, or because of it’s location in a deserted area between railways and a psychiatric hospital. But in fact this image is a misunderstanding produced mostly by those who have never been to this magic place, or have just observed it from the windows of a passing train. Most of the sellers at Udelniy flea market are poor, retired people, who gather at flea market to earn little money. The flea market became a place for these elderly people to with meet each other, talk, and share their problems. This not just an open air market – it’s a sanctuary for these people who have become lost in the post-modern society, where the face-to-face communication has been replaced by technological devices.

The flea market obtained its legal status as a public market only 2 years ago. From first glance it was a rare example of a social victory and a successful grassroots initiative in Russia. For more than 5 years the flea market sellers fought against the police and the bureaucracy of the city and local district authorities until finally, yes, Victory! People registered and got the permission to gather at the market without fear of being fined, arrested, humiliated; without expecting their old possessions to be confiscated and burned by the police before their very eyes. However, the authority have not yet helped people arrange or refine the territory. There were no stalls, no paths, no toilets… no money for renovation. Only few people know that in fact the lucky fate of Udelniy flea market is not just a result of the civic pressure towards local authorities, but to a significant extent the market has survived thanks to the personal networks and charm of the leader of the initiative group of the flea market sellers, Ljuba.

But people are happy anyway – they love to come there, they come during the cold winter and hot summer, they sell their unique things, they communicate, they love their flee-free market! And all those people who have personal attachment to this “fossil” flea market sincerely hope it will exist forever – they can not imagine their lives without Udelniy.