MOSCOW, November 29 (RIA Novosti) – An administrative case has been launched over a giant Louis Vuitton suitcase-shaped pavilion recently installed in the middle of Moscow’s Red Square, Russian officials said Friday.
A spokeswoman for the Moscow government’s authority overseeing the use of state-owned non-residential real estate said the French fashion house faces “penal sanctions” for illegal use of land.
Measuring 30 meters (100 feet) long and nine meters (30 feet) high and adorned with the Louis Vuitton logo, the gargantuan trunk was due to house a "Soul of Travel" exhibition organized by the designer goods company from December 2 to January 19.
It was not immediately clear which department of the city government had given the company permission to erect the pavilion. Earlier, a Kremlin source told journalists that the presidential administration had not agreed to its construction.
The giant suitcase’s installation on Red Square, an iconic Moscow tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage site, sparked a wave of public outrage and numerous demands for its removal.
The dismantling of the pavilion began Thursday and is expected to take about a week.
