The stores, which could open in the fall, will sell imported products that can be hard to find in regular Russian stores as foreign brands leave the country because of the war in Ukraine. However, in order to make a purchase, visitors will need to present an official document proving that they are a foreign diplomat, an employee of an international organization or a family member. And the stores will also accept payments in dollars and euros, mimicking the function of beryozka stores as a magnet for foreign currency. “It’s a total USSR!” wrote Sergei Smirnov, the editor-in-chief of Russia’s Mediazona newspaper, which wrote about the legislation after it was announced in Russia’s official parliamentary newspaper. Western brands have already become harder to find in many stores in Russia. Shoppers have flocked to stores owned by big brands such as H&M as the Swedish clothing retailer reopened its doors this week in a final sale of its inventory before it exits the country for good. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The duty-free shops will be owned by a company set up by the Russian Foreign Ministry and another entity to be selected in a tender. The stores’ products will include alcohol, tobacco products, jewelry, cosmetics, perfumes and sweets, as well as smartphones and watches, Mediazona said. It is not yet clear whether electronics will include products such as iPhones, which are no longer directly imported into Russia. The foreign ministry has considered opening a duty-free shop for foreign diplomats since at least 2015, after Russia banned many European food imports as part of an anti-sanctions package following the annexation of Crimea, according to Russian news agencies. In a 2014 letter obtained by Russian news website Gazeta.ru, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the stores would help limit “financial losses and delays” associated with the delivery of goods to foreign diplomatic missions in Russia , Radio Free Europe reported.
