Russia's ban on foreign vendors triggers food market shortages

For Nasib Oripov, April 1 marked the day he lost his livelihood.

Oripov, a 27-year-old from Tajikistan, sold dried fruit at the market next to Kievsky railway station in central Moscow. Now he's one of an estimated 3.3 million foreigners, most from former Soviet states, banned from operating food stalls after President Vladimir Putin said the markets were often run by "bandits."

"We need the money and there is no work back home," said Oripov, who earned about 15,000 rubles ($577) a month at the market and is looking for work on building sites. "No Russian will work here for this money."

While political analysts say Putin is clamping down on non- Russians to win support from locals left behind by the country's oil-led economic boom, the banishment of immigrants has left Muscovites lamenting the loss of cheap fruit and vegetables. Prices are already rising, with the cost of a kilogram of potatoes doubling to 30 rubles, shoppers say.

About half the stalls at the open-air Dorogomilovsky market were shuttered at 10:30 a.m. on April 3. Some had signs stuck to their empty windows saying "Wanted Shop Assistant -- Must be Russian."

The scene unnerved some shoppers, who say they are spending more time hunting down staples.

"The stall where I used to buy milk is shut, as is the one where I bought fruit," said Lyubov, 75, a retiree who declined to give her full name. "They didn't think this through."

'Ethnic Flavor'

The ban on foreign workers was authorized by a government resolution on Dec. 15, after riots in the northern town of Kondopoga, where locals protested the number of Chechen businesses.

Putin, who is scheduled to step down after elections next year, said during an Oct. 5 government meeting that the markets are often run by criminals with "ethnic flavor." He called on the government to take measures to "protect Russian producers and the local population."

Russia banned foreigners from selling alcohol and medicine beginning Jan. 1 and limited the number of trading places given to non-Russians to 40 percent of the total. The blanket ban took effect April 1 so that markets would have time to hire replacement workers.

While Oripov doesn't expect his job back, he's staying in Moscow. "I'll get a job as a porter or on a construction site," he said.

Employers can be fined as much as 800,000 rubles for each illegal worker, said Konstantin Poltoranin, a spokesman for the Federal Migration Service.

Harnessing Hatred

"This law is pure populism, a reaction to a xenophobic sentiment that has risen in society,'' said Yuri Kogunyuk, a political researcher at Indem, a Moscow-based research institute. "Politicians are happy to harness this xenophobia for the elections."

The Kremlin denies the clampdown is political. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it would be "dangerous'' to use "xenophobia for political capital." He added that every local market was "controlled by criminal groups."

A telephone poll conducted by the independent Levada Center in August showed 50 percent of respondents supported the idea of "Russia for Russians" and the introduction of restrictions on citizens from different ethnic groups. Levada spoke to 1,600 adults in 128 towns across Russia.

Violence against outsiders is increasing. At least 54 people were killed in racially motivated attacks last year and 520 were wounded, according to Sova, a Moscow-based institute that monitors violence against ethnic minorities. The group recorded 36 deaths from such attacks in 2005, with 399 people injured.

Election Pledge

The Movement Against Illegal Migration, which staged the demonstrations in Kondopoga, is one of the fastest growing pressure groups in Russia, according to Sova, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"We are attracting middle managers, students and journalists," Alexander Belov, the movement's leader, said in an interview in Moscow. Belov, a surname he adopted because it's derived from the Russian word for white, said his group intends to "play a greater role in the run up to elections."

While the Federal Migration Service says there are plenty of Russians waiting to take jobs as vendors, the World Bank predicts the new rules may hurt Russia's economy. The country needs immigrants to boost the labor force, said John Litwack, the bank's Moscow-based chief economist.

The law is already producing higher prices as the extra cost of hiring Russian labor is passed on to the customer, shoppers at the Dorogomilovsky market say. On average, prices are up about 20 percent and there is less choice, said Oksana Kamentsova, a 52- year-old housewife.

The ban is flexible and may be revoked at the end of the year if prices rise too much, said Migration Service spokesman Poltoranin.

Elgis Garsonov, a 30-year-old from Azerbaijan, kept his job selling clothes and shoes because he doesn't handle food. He fears the demise of the food stalls will kill the market.

"They think we'll die from hunger if they kick us out," he said. "But in reality it's them who will die from hunger."

By Hannah Gardner

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