Russia:Immigrant market traders have been banned from working in the multitude of markets across Russia from the weekend as a new migration law takes effect.
The controversial legislation was introduced to bring control to a sector often associated in Russia with organised crime but perceived by critics as an effort to force many Central Asians from Russia. The side effects could be severely embarrassing, however, if as feared, many markets are empty and prices for the poorest section of society rise as they are forced to look elsewhere for basic products.
With low unemployment, many Russians shun manual labour, whether it is construction work or the long hours and early starts involved in the markets.
Opinion polls in Russia have found that following the gradual introduction of curbs since the start of the year, more than a quarter of Russians claim prices have risen. Everything from children's clothes to car parts are served by specialist, often ramshackle markets in Russia's big cities, though some of the largest food markets appear to demonstrate there are no shortages in Russia any more.
The main motivation appears to be a government effort to avoid further ethnic tensions by discouraging many visibly different ethnic groups from living in the country. Last summer, 11 Vietnamese were killed after Russian far-right extremists detonated a bomb in a Moscow market known to be operated by Asians. Across the country, there have been numerous attacks on non-whites, including the stabbing in St Petersburg of African students.
Last September, the town of Kondopoga was riven by a virtual pogrom of immigrants after a bar-room brawl escalated when two ethnic Russian were killed. More than 150 immigrants from Chechnya and Central Asian countries like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan fled the town near the Finnish border after they were attacked and had their market stalls burnt down.
With economic conditions still weak in many of the former Soviet Republics, Russia has become the best alternative place to seek work.