Beryozka

Beryozka (Russian Берёзка, German " Birklein " according to the Russian " national tree "; officially used transcription in Latin script Beriozka ) were retail stores in the Russian SFSR, which sold to value products to foreigners or under strict conditions from 1964 to certain groups of Soviet citizens. Outside of these stores offer in the Soviet Union was either not available or very expensive.

Precursor of Beryozka transactions were the Torgsin in the 1930s and the very inefficient WneschPossylTorg departments of state department stores in many Soviet cities that were organized along the lines of the Moscow department store GUM. Counter value you could order goods by post there.

The retail chain WneschPossylTorg existed specifically for Soviet citizens who received part of their salary in foreign currencies. They were compelled to redeem them for rubles checks to buy goods there can.

The Beryozka business chain drove the same article against Valuta and so-called "D- Series - checks " of Vneshtorgbank. In other Union republics, there were also shops in the chain, but they were usually named after the respective " national tree " or other symbol, Kaschtan ( " chestnut " ) in Ukrainian, Tschinara ( "Sycamore " ) in the Azerbaijan, Dzintars ( " Bernstein " ) in the Latvian SSR, etc. The shutters were theoretically only by foreigners ( and certain Soviet citizens, as senior party members or not of the party belonging to Soviet citizens who were abroad in the long term lance be entered ), since the private ownership of foreign, convertible currencies was banned. In the last years of the Soviet Union and thus the Beryozka businesses these limitations, however, were handled increasingly loose.

Other offices held in Soviet port cities Albatross shops for returning sailors whose goods were against TorgMorTrans checks, issued by the Navy Office to pay in convertible foreign currency, issued.

After the early 1990s, the ruble was convertible, the Beryozka transactions were obsolete. They were privatized and reported later in many cases bankruptcy.