'State racism' as Russia bans foreigners from jobs

From January, foreigners will not be allowed to sell alcohol or medicine, and from April they will be banned from working in the retail sector.

The ban extends to Russia's indoor and outdoor food and clothing markets, as well as to thousands of roadside kiosks selling anything from newspapers to cosmetics. The jobs affected are typically low paid and are often done by immigrants from the former Soviet republics such as Tajikistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Nobody knows precisely how many people will be forced out of work, but the figure is estimated to be at least one million people.

Mikhail Fradkov, the Prime Minister, said the ban was needed to protect the rights of ethnic Russians who have complained of being squeezed out of the retail sector by immigrants.

President Vladimir Putin has hailed the new measures as "a correct decision", arguing that Russia is not suffering from a labour shortage in the retail sector so does not need to rely on foreign workers.

With crunch parliamentary elections looming next year, the Kremlin is also keen to be seen to be in touch with popular sentiment. The new laws follow controversial comments from the deputy head of the Russian Migration Service. Vyacheslav Postavnin was quoted yesterday as saying that it was a good idea to keep the numbers of non-Russians in any given region below 20 per cent of the overall population. "If the norm is exceeded, it will make the indigenous population feel uncomfortable. As a rule people who come to such districts do not assimilate. They begin living by their own rules," he said.

Activists are warning that nationalism is on the march and accuse the state of pandering to racists. Sova, an organisation that monitors racist violence, says there have been 39 racist murders this year so far and 300 attacks. The Independent