Shuttles

This type of entrepreneurs is called shuttles by analogy with a weaving device - a shuttle , which in the process of work moves from one edge of the canvas to the other. The activities of such entrepreneurs also imply their constant movement from the place of purchase of goods to the place of sale and vice versa.

The purchase of goods, as a rule, takes place in large wholesale markets in the country of visit, usually in the country where the product is produced (most often China , Poland , Turkey ). Shuttles carry out the transportation of goods on their own, using almost all types of transport (rail, road, water, aviation). Retail sales are made either independently or through distributors (sellers). The goods were most often light industry products , utensils , household appliances , etc. It is erroneous to believe that shuttles are only and exclusively small traders. In the 1990s, there were entrepreneurs who transported goods on custom buses, and had dozens of outlets in the markets, often wholesale.

The collapse of the post-Soviet economy in the early 1990s led to a sharp deterioration in the economic situation in the former Soviet republics . At the same time, the population had the opportunity to engage in legal individual entrepreneurship and freely go abroad. The shortage of consumer goods that remained after the collapse of the USSR and the low standard of living contributed to the involvement of broad sections of the population in the massive disordered trade in consumer goods.

The work of the shuttle was risky and not easy. Often, shuttle buses were robbed . Entrepreneurs were robbed ^[1] , sometimes killed. ^{[2] [3]} . When selling goods at retail, conflicts also occurred with other entrepreneurs, criminal elements , and inspection bodies.

Since the late 1990s, this market segment began to transform. Gradually, it became unprofitable to independently transport goods, and the number of shuttles began to rapidly decline. A special role was played by the fact that the standard of living of the population began to increase, and an ever smaller number of people were ready to engage in such a risky activity. At this stage, in large cities, market trade has become more streamlined and there are negligible shuttles in them. But in less developed regions, this type of business is common now.

cinema

• Shuttles ( TV series , Russia , 2016) ^[4] [1]

Shuttle Monuments

Monuments to shuttles are open in several cities of Russia, for example:

• in Belgorod near the Central Market in November 2007 ^[5] ;
• opened in Yekaterinburg in July 2009 near the central entrance to the Tagansky Ryad clothing market, the largest in the Urals . The decision to install it was due to the fact that this profession is gradually becoming a thing of the past in connection with the development of large business ^[6] ;
• in Blagoveshchensk ;
• in Naberezhnye Chelny ^[7]
• in Bishkek ^[8] , Kyrgyzstan (at the entrance to the largest Dordoi market, opened in December 2018).

• Sackers
• Kravchuchka
• Cherkizon

• L. Andreiuk . Ode to the shuttles // pravda.info
• Petersburg shuttle business: Finns are scared // Rosbalt