Huffington Post
In one of the most expensive cities in the world, Chirkizovsky market was still a place where the everyman could go shopping.
Located in northeast Moscow, it was a sprawling compound of stalls, restaurants and small shops, where Chinese, Vietnamese and other immigrant vendors sold clothes, household goods and just about anything else for rock bottom prices. Until one day in late June, the metal gates of the 740 acre bazaar– the largest in Europe– slammed shut, leaving an estimated 100,000 people without work.
Authorities cited a slew of reasons, including the sale of contraband goods and the fact that Chirkizovsky vendors did not pay taxes. But the real motivation may be revenge by the Kremlin and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov against the owner of the market, the Azerbajani-born Telman Ismailov who got too big for his britches and boasted about a new hotel he was building in Turkey.
Whatever, the reason, vendors had exactly two days to pack up their wares and shove out. Those who didn’t, lost thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, some of which is still being kept at the market. Read the story.
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