Torgsin

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Torgsin (Russian: Торгсин) were state-run hard-currency stores that operated in the USSR between 1931 and 1936. Their name was an acronym of torgovlia s inostrantsami (Russian: торговля с иностранцами), "trade with foreigners." Unlike the later Beryozka stores, Torgsin stores were open to Soviet citizens, provided they had access to hard currency, gold or jewels. Torgsin was established by the Sovnarkom chairman Vyacheslav Molotov's order of 5 July 1931 and disbanded 1 February 1936 [1].

Other countries later employed similar hard-currency stores, including Intershops in the German Democratic Republic and Friendship Stores in the People's Republic of China.

[edit] External links

• "Sklar's Stores," Time, November 9, 1931
• Short page on Torgsin stores from website devoted to Bulgakov's Master & Margarita
• Homepage of Prof. Elena Osokina of the University of South Carolina who is writing a book on Torgsins.