Closure Cherkizovsky Market

cherkizovsky market, 2010

on june 1, 2009, prime minister vladimir putin complained @ government meeting last year s large-scale confiscation of smuggled chinese goods on cherkizovsky market hadn t resulted in convictions. according independent, sunday times , others, putin furious telman ismailov in late may threw lavish party in turkey, celebrating opening of opulent resort hotel there, despite him having made fortune in russia.

on june 18, 2009, russian authorities said destroy more 6,000 containers holding estimated $2 billion worth of pirated , smuggled goods entered russia through practice of gray customs clearance.

on june 25, alexander bastrykin, head of investigative committee of prosecutor general s office turned on market, demanding shutdown. state-run rossiya tv channel aired programme investigating smuggling connected marketplace , attacking ismailov. moscow mayor yuri luzhkov, despite being close friend of ismailov, pledged remove market.

on june 29, market temporarily shut down russia s consumer watchdog rospotrebnadzor after series of checks revealed 464 violations of fire safety regulations. complete list of violations included poor sanitary conditions, concerns on how goods stored, , concerns on living conditions of thousands of market’s employees.

on july 15, mayor luzhkov made clear closure permanent, , dismantling of market began following september.

aftermath

cherkizovsky market, 2008

the sudden shutdown of market left tens of thousands of workers, many of them illegal immigrants, jobless , in financial trouble because unable sell goods. china worried situation around market , in late july sent mofcom delegation headed chinese vice minister of commerce gao hucheng negotiate fate of chinese vendors. moscow s consumer department cooperated chinese coordination group , agreed allow chinese merchants clean stalls , ship out merchandise closed market during specific period of time every day.

gao said china had no objections russia s crackdown on illegal trade, russian side should try best keep economic losses of chinese business people minimum. chinese analysts noted russia s cracking down on smuggling , rectifying domestic markets regulate trade channels, improve trade environment, , therefore overall beneficial sustained , sound development of bilateral trade between 2 countries in long run.

a poll conducted levada center showed among 94% of moscow citizens knew closure, 67% supported move. online poll conducted newspaper izvestia showed on 80% of respondents in favor of shutdown.