Putin privileges Russian workers

The government needs to be sending a signal that it is not acceptable to discriminate against non-Russians. It should not be participating.  The irony is that in the Soviet era Russia was famous for promoting “friendship between peoples”, hosting large numbers of students from the developing world.  But now that slogan seems to have been turned on its head.  It is now Russia for Russians.

Allison Gill, head of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch, following the coming into effect yesterday of a law reserving retail jobs for ethnic Russians.

From the Independent:-

Russia bans foreign workers from retail jobs

The legislation, which has been described as state-sponsored racism by human rights activists, bans non-Russians from working in large chunks of the country’s retail sector.

In particular it prevents anyone who doesn’t hold a Russian passport from working in Russia’s huge indoor and outdoor food-and-clothing markets and in the thousands of roadside kiosks that sell anything from newspapers to cosmetics. Such jobs are usually low paid and involve working at least 12-hour days.

Until yesterday, it was not uncommon to visit a market staffed exclusively by migrant workers from across the former Soviet Union. But, as of yesterday, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from countries such as Georgia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan are looking for a new job.

In Russia’s Far East, where such positions have typically been filled by Chinese migrant workers, the impact was felt immediately. Many of them appear to have already packed their bags and returned home.

At Ussuriysk’s vast market near the Chinese border, almost all the stalls were reported to be deserted. “We had hoped good sense would prevail ... This could disrupt the economy and bring many problems,” said Sergei Simakov, a district councillor from Ussuriysk.

Some commentators have raised fears that prices may rise as employers are forced to pay higher wages and have questioned whether ethnic Russians will be willing to take up jobs that entail such long hours. At Moscow’s famous Dorogomilovsky food market several stalls were denuded of their usually exotic mixture of fruit and vegetables from across the vast region. In their place hung signs that read: “Wanted: Sales-people. Must be Russian.”

Officials from the country’s migration service raided a Moscow market yesterday. That is a sign that the Kremlin expects the new law to be scrupulously followed. Four foreign workers were detained.

A spokesman for the Federal Migration Service said the raid proved that the new law was effective. “Considering that this particular market has 1,200 trading stalls and only four foreigners were detected you can conclude that in general the law is working.” The Kremlin insists that there is nothing racist about the law that it says is intended to protect the rights of ethnic Russians, who have complained of being squeezed out of the retail sector by migrant workers.

The story also appeared on the BBC’s comment pages, and this approbatory remark from a Brit in Moscow stood ought from the ethnic plaints:-

As a Briton living in Moscow, it was apparent from when I first arrived that foreigners as they’re called, formed a large percentage of the food and retail market. And when I first arrived those same foreigners were publicly known to have formed criminal syndicates, regulating by means of intimidation or worse just who could sell in Moscow and beyond. There were several incidents shortly after I arrived of shootings and beatings of native Russians being forcibly prevented from setting up shop, or producing goods in their own country. Since then, and more recently, there has been a marked improvement in the mix of native Russians to foreigners, as a result of the Russian Government’s crackdown on corruption, and criminal gangs. It may seem hard to outsiders, but a balance is being restored in this country…

Unseen to the press, or simply unreported, is a large slice of native Russians who are expected to follow the rules in manufacturing and food standards up to a European-level Quality Control, with stiff penalties for non-compliance, and yet they are constantly undermined by the black economy, who have shipped in cheap and often inferior goods, (or made them here in sweat shops) then flooded the market with these goods at inflated prices, with brutal intimidation if challenged by locals. This has hindered natural economic growth, and made things very much harder for native Russians determined to make a success of their lives… Another important consideration is: The foreigners tend to employ their own and very few native Russians, and to a large extent, ship the profits out of the country, paying little or nothing into the Russian economy or tax system… I am in no way an apologist for this country, and know everything’s not perfect here ... but simply a Briton who has seen the real situation through the eyes of objective ‘fair play’...

alex stone, Moscow

Well, that’s how it’s done, folks.  Doesn’t seem that difficult.

Posted by Guessedworker on Monday, April 2, 2007 at 06:02 PM in World Affairs
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