The first deputy prime minister pointed out an insufficient level of compliance with the law at municipal and regional levels in most Russian regions. "Major violations were identified in 90% of the 2,500 markets (79% of all active markets in Russia), which were inspected by Rospotrebnadzor at the government's request, said Viktor Zubkov.

He urged the heads of regions to intensify their efforts in providing space for the markets in major indoor facilities.

Mr Zubkov told the participants of the meeting that the government supported the amendments to the law, On retail markets and introducing amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which had been proposed by State Duma deputies. The amendments propose extending the deadline for relocating the non-agricultural markets in Moscow and St Petersburg to permanent sites from January 1, 2012 to July 1, 2012. Similarly, they propose extending the deadline to January 1, 2013 for cities with population over 500,000 and for regional centres.

"This will allow us to complete the work in the regions aimed at creating civilized shopping conditions in the retail markets sector. The deadlines for moving non-agricultural markets to permanent sites in other cities, as well as the deadlines for agricultural markets throughout Russia, remain unchanged. These deadlines are January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2015 respectively, stressed Viktor Zubkov.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Zubkov instructed the federal oversight agencies to arrange regular inspections in 2012, in order to ensure that the Russian Federation laws are fulfilled at the retail markets.