{{Short description|Resellers during the collapse of the Soviet Union}} thumb|A monument to shuttle traders in China According to the OECD definition, '''shuttle trade''' is "the activity in which individual entrepreneurs buy goods abroad and import them for resale in street markets or small shops. Often the goods are imported without full declaration in order to avoid import duties."<ref>''Measuring the Non-Observed Economy: A Handbook'', OECD, Annex 2, [https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/measuring-the-non-observed-economy-a-handbook_9789264175358-en#page208 p. 208]</ref><ref>[https://archive.unescwa.org/sd-glossary/shuttle-trade shuttle trade], ESCWA, citing OECD</ref><ref>Lidia Lukyanova, [https://jamestown.org/program/how-the-shuttle-traders-save-russia/ HOW THE SHUTTLE TRADERS SAVE RUSSIA], ''Prism'' Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 1997, Jamestown Foundation</ref>
==History==
'''Shuttle traders''' ({{langx|ru|челноки|lit=shuttles|translit=chelnoki}}; {{Langx|uk|човники|translit=chovniki}}) were people engaged in the practice of shuttle trade in late Soviet Union and post-soviet states in which traders shuttle backwards and forwards in and out of the country buying goods and then selling them within the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pravda.info/economics/5884.html|title=ПРАВДА.info - Ода "челнокам"|website=www.pravda.info|access-date=2018-11-25}}</ref> Originated during the ''perestroika'' times, it extended well beyond time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in Russia, as well as in many other post-Soviet states.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shkolazhizni.ru/world/articles/66686/|title=Кто такие "челноки": откуда взялись и куда подевались?|website=shkolazhizni.ru|access-date=2018-11-25}}</ref><ref>Lidia Lukyanova, [https://jamestown.org/program/how-the-shuttle-traders-save-russia/ HOW THE SHUTTLE TRADERS SAVE RUSSIA], 1997 </ref><ref>Igor Rotar, [https://jamestown.org/program/merchants-protest-new-banking-laws-in-uzbekistan/ MERCHANTS PROTEST NEW BANKING LAWS IN UZBEKISTAN], 2004</ref><ref>Grigory Ioffe, [https://jamestown.org/program/a-business-and-a-pep-talk/ A Business and a Pep Talk], 2013</ref><ref>[https://jamestown.org/program/turkeys-cultural-and-economic-presence-grows-in-kyrgyzstan/ TURKEY’S CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC PRESENCE GROWS IN KYRGYZSTAN], 2007</ref>
Shuttlers may carry goods for sale in both directions, and it is often a contraband, based on loopholes in import laws. Often shuttlers are victims of robbery, because they are easily identifiable. Still, the business is attractive. For example, in 2007 it was reported that a St. Petersburg<->Finland shuttler earns 400-600 Euros per trip on average.<ref>[https://www.rosbalt.ru/news/2007-12-19/chelnochnyy-biznes-po-peterburgski-finny-napugany-foto-3512244 Челночный бизнес по-петербургски: Финны напуганы], December 19, 2007</ref>
In Turkey the practice of shuttle trading is known as "suitcase trade" ({{langx|tr|bavul ticareti}}) since 1960s when goods for sale were brought from Northern Cyprus in suitcases, hence the term.<ref>Yüksek Lisans Tezi [https://web.archive.org/web/20180404031502/http://havakargoturkiye.com/App_FileUpload/Files/Databank_GHlfc_mkirci.pdf TÜRKİYE’DEKİ BAVUL TİCARETİ GELİŞMELER VE YENİ ALTERNATİFLER ], 2007</ref>
==See also== *Bag people
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * Zabyelina, Y. (2012). “[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17440572.2012.674185 Costs and Benefits of Informal Economy: Shuttle Trade and Crime at Cherkizovsky Market].” ''Global Crime'', Volume 13, No. 2, pp. 95-108. (behind the paywall)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuttle Trading}} Category:Economy of Russia Category:Second economy of the Soviet Union