Ban on foreigners hits Russian markets

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2007

MOSCOW (AFP) — A ban on foreigners selling goods in Russia's hugely popular retail markets came into force on Sunday, leaving many markets struggling to remain open.

Critics warned that the government order could push up prices, hurting the poorest among the population.

Almost all stalls were deserted at the vast market in Ussuriysk, near the Chinese border in Russia's Far East, as the mainly Chinese workforce had left in advance of the new regulation, a visiting AFP reporter saw.

"We had hoped good sense would prevail.... This could disrupt the economy and bring many problems," a district councillor from Ussuriysk, Sergei Simakov, said.

At Moscow's vast Dorogomilovsky market some stalls had been forced to close and were displaying signs that read:...