There is also a legend that the statue was a remake of the monument to Christopher Columbus presented by Tsereteli to the American authorities that for some reason refused the gift.

Although Muscovites have insisted on dismissing the statue quite a lot of times, Resin’s colleagues seemed cautious about his suggestion. They argued that resettling the monument would cost as much as building two kindergartens, something which Moscow really needs.

Mikhail Moskvin-Tarkhanov, head of Construction Commission at the Moscow Duma, said that relocating the statue could cost up to 1 billion rubles.

The new home to the monument is still under discussion. It has been suggested to move Peter I to north Moscow, which was strongly opposed by the head of northern district. A member of Russia’s Public Chamber, Marat Gelman, even insisted that the statue should be relocated to the Estonian city of Narva, which was taken over by Peter I.

While Moscow officials are practicing their wits, members of the Architectural Control social movement are seriously worried that this will be just another attempt to manipulate the public.

“They are trying to relocate the statue and say that all the problems with Moscow’s outlook have been solved,” Natalia Samover, a member of the movement, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Konstantin Mikhailov, coordinator of Architectural Control, agrees that there are much more urgent problems in the city than the controversial monument.

“I think we should start protecting Moscow as a single historical entity, rather than having certain streets or monuments preserved,” Mikhailov told RT. “The term ‘old Moscow’ should become a legal and administrative one. As for the statue of Peter the Great, we will certainly not object if City Hall decides to remove it. However, there are urgent problems in Moscow that officials need to focus on first – many historic objects won't even survive the upcoming winter. So they definitely come first.”

Meanwhile, the city’s interim government is continuing to shake up Moscow life. After discussing where to put Peter the Great, next on the agenda is the city's fairs.

A new set of rules was adopted today to regulate the work at fairs in Moscow.

There will now be more temporary food markets in autumn to allow residents to enjoy the fruits of harvest time. Every seller will have to register and have a certificate for his products.

However, certain products – like beer, cheap CDs or animal furs – have been banned under the new rules.

Also, every food stall will have to have weighing scales.

However, as it turned out, the city is not alone in receiving a makeover after the ex-mayor’s departure. The recent reshuffling at City Hall was just the beginning: on September 5, the acting mayor sacked one of the city's most notorious district heads, Oleg Mitvol.