Luxury stores are opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg, repeating the idea of Soviet-era Berjozka stores to collect foreign currency.
4.8. 20:28
in Moscow and St. Petersburg will open their own tax-free retail stores at the end of August, where only diplomats and employees of foreign companies and organizations and their family members can shop. The stores will open on August 27, and the matter has been reported in the official journal of Russian legal affairs, says Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Prices are shown in the store in rubles, dollars and euros. You can only enter with proof of employment, and you may not buy goods for resale. The duty-free selection includes food, alcohol, tobacco products, perfumes, cosmetics, pastries, jewelry, smartphones, and watches.
The company of the Russian Ministry of the Interior has been named as the second owner of the stores. The second is a private company that will be selected through an open tender. The operations of the stores are monitored by customs.
The Russian Ministry of Finance made a similar proposal already in 2019, but nothing came of that initiative.
Specialty shops repeat the same concept that the Soviet Union once used in Moscow and Leningrad and in several hotels of the state-owned Inturist. The delicacies and alcohol selections of those Berjozka stores are fondly remembered by many Finnish tourists.
Ordinary Soviet citizens had nothing to do with the ruble in the Berjozkos. Many imported products were expensive, but local handicrafts and Soviet delicacies such as caviar could be bought cheaply.
The purpose of the Soviet Berjozka chains was to produce hard currency for the state coffers, which could not be bought with the non-exchangeable ruble.
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