The history of post-Soviet "shuttle traders"

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, residents of the Soviet republics began to travel abroad en masse. But they were primarily interested not in sights, but in cheap goods, which were so lacking in their homeland.

It would seem, what surprising can there be in buying a suit or boots? Today there are more shopping malls and delivery services online stores than, say, museums and theaters. But for the inhabitants of the post-Soviet space not so long ago (by historical standards) all this was inaccessible: they bought what was in state stores, standing in endless lines for Yugoslavian boots, or from blacksmiths.

On the market in Moscow, 1990s. - Yuri Abramochkin / russiainphoto.ru

At the very end of the 1980s, the USSR was opened for departure, and then free trade was allowed. Soviet "tourists" reached abroad, buying everything they came across on their way - from condoms and sausages to lipsticks and mixers. To then sell at home, of course.

The shuttles, as they were called, carried things not in heavy suitcases, but in cheap, huge checkered trunks. And a couple of years later, when the USSR ceased to exist and the republics were plunged into a severe economic crisis, the trade in foreign things became a salvation for many citizens who lost their jobs.

China. Suifenhe. Russian shuttle traders return home from China with their purchases. - Vladimir Sayapin / TASS

Market relations

“My mother in the USSR was an engineer with a stable income and clear plans for life,” says an Internet user from Russia at the forum. - And then the 90s began, which she experienced quite averagely: the loss of her job, the "shuttle", the return to ordinary life. She recalls the 90s as the first years, when she breathed freely and began to make plans for the future. Although not all of her acquaintances survived this time."

Clothing market "Luzhniki", 1996. - Valery Khristoforov / TASS

After the collapse of the USSR, many were really left without work: state-owned enterprises simply had nothing to pay their salaries with, or they were paid with their own products. Given the huge number of city-forming factories and factories in the country, the scale of the disaster was enormous. Yesterday's teachers, doctors and engineers were forced to look for new ways to earn money. This was the way to trade foreign things on the market.

The easiest way, of course, was for residents of border areas: from Ukraine, Belarus and the western part of Russia they traveled to Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia and further throughout Europe. From the Leningrad Region to Finland. Residents of the Far East bought things in Chinese cities.

China. Suifenhe. Russian shuttle traders return home from China with their purchases. - Vladimir Sayapin / TASS

But the real "shuttle" Mecca for the Russians was Turkey. The quality of Turkish things in the 1990s was at a very high level: fabrics, shoes, cosmetics served for many years, and prices were not high.

1995. On the way from Turkey to Russia. - Victor Klyushkin / TASS

They carried as much as they could - no one thought about the overweight, and the air carriers did not have such strict rules. The bags did not fit into the luggage compartment, so even the passage of the plane was clogged with trunks. The crews treated the situation with understanding, and someone even "shuttle" himself.

Shuttles in Tu-134, 1992.

Some citizens were directly involved in the organization of such "travel" - they organized the so-called "shopping tours" on ferries, trains or buses in the border areas. A group of "shuttles" were taken to warehouses, factories or shops so that they could buy in bulk with everything they needed, and then they were taken to their homes.

At one's own risk

However, there was no apparent romance in the shuttle profession at all. People had to get money to travel and buy goods (most often they borrowed from friends), carry tons of bags on themselves, and then trade on the open market in any weather. The profit could be penny.

People with luggage on Komsomolskaya Square in Moscow. Early 2000s. - Vladimir Fedorenko / Sputnik

In the 90s, there were still restrictions on the export of currency from the former Soviet republics (for example, it was allowed to export no more than $ 700 from Russia), so the "shuttle traders" exported things that could be sold abroad (Soviet cameras, jewelry, alcohol), and already with the proceeds they bought foreign goods.

"Shuttles", 1993. - Leonid Sverdlov / TASS

“Many of us took Soviet hats to China. Each cost seven rubles, and the Chinese willingly exchanged two hats for a pair of boots, which could be sold in Luzhniki for two thousand, - recalls the former "shuttle" Andrey. - You go through customs, wearing seven hats and three coats one on top of the other. The customs officer is angry, and you explain to him: I'm cold. He can't do anything."

Near the Yaroslavsky railway station, early 2000s. - Igor Mikhalev / Sputnik

Others took helpers with them to take out more currency.

They sold things in the markets - in every large city there was one, or even several, shopping malls where you could find anything. In Moscow, the most famous were Luzhniki (all the stands under the sports stadium were turned into retail outlets), Cherkizovsky - and a dozen smaller ones.

Cherkizovsky market in the early 2000s and today. - Grigory Sysoev / TASS; Moskva agency

Not only ordinary buyers came here, but also dealers from other regions of the country, for whom it was more profitable not to travel abroad, but to bring goods from the capital. In the mid-90s, migrants from Asian republics began to come here in large numbers with their goods.

Shuttle Monuments

Domodedovo market, 1990s. - zalivnoy / pastvu.com

Gradually, such trade became less and less profitable: states introduced new customs rules, airlines limited the weight of luggage, and city authorities tried to take control of market trade - crime and unsanitary conditions flourished there.

Domodedovskiy shopping center, 2019 - google maps

In addition, in 1998, amid the economic crisis, the ruble collapsed, and many entrepreneurs with dollar-denominated debts went bankrupt. In the early 2000s, shopping centers began to appear in Russian cities, including large foreign chains, the place of "shuttle traders" was taken by trading companies, and the markets gradually began to be demolished.

Monument to "shuttle traders" near a shopping center in Yekaterinburg. - Pavel Lisitsyn / Sputnik

It is rather difficult to estimate the volume of the shadow “shuttle” economy - according to some estimates, in the mid-90s it accounted for up to a third of imports into the country, but, of course, no one kept accurate records. Up to 10 million Russian citizens were employed in this area, according to rough estimates of economists.

Monument to the Amur "shuttle" in Blagoveshchensk. - Vitaly Ankov / Sputnik

This small but important period of modern history is reflected in monumental art. Monuments to shuttle traders have become national landmarks in several cities of Russia. They stand, of course, near shopping centers - former markets from the "dashing 90s".