Russia bans foreign retailers from shops

MOSCOW - ALL foreigners have been banned as retailers from Russian shops and markets under a new law which came into force yesterday.

There are up to 20,000 non-Russians working in Moscow markets alone, in a tradition going back to Soviet times, says the BBC Online.

President Vladimir Putin had earlier reasoned that the interests of Russian citizens were at stake.

Migrant groups have condemned the law as unfair and unworkable.

While foreigners will not be allowed to sell directly, they will still have the right to work as loaders, cleaners, wholesalers or managers, according to an official from the Russian Federal Migration Service, Vyacheslav Postavnin.

The law was introduced after a number of incidents, chief among them unrest in the northern town of Kondopoga, where two local men were killed in a brawl with ethnic Chechens.

The new law is already changing the face of retail in Russia, says the BBC. Ahead of its coming into force, the number of foreigners working in markets had been reduced to 40per cent of the workforce.

Markets provide jobs for people from poorer countries if they are willing to work long hours, for low pay. But now, anyone working in a shop or at a stall must have Russian citizenship.

Officials responsible for enforcing the law are not planning any major moves to coincide with the new deadline. They believe market administrators will ensure the law is observed.

Russian media reports have warned of price rises as a consequence of the new law but the authorities insist that any such increases will be due to inflation.

The new law is the latest in a series on immigration. In January, migrants from the Commonwealth of Independent States entering Russia under a visa-free regime were banned from selling alcohol and pharmaceuticals.

Mr Postavnin said the new legislation is aimed at combating the shadow economy.

'People have really begun to emerge from the shadow - it's very good,' he told Russian news agency Itar-Tass.