Over the last six months, at least 20 companies have begun running nine-day junkets to Istanbul to meet the demands of well-heeled consumers. Tour companies are also shuttling zealous importers back and forth by train and bus so they can take part in three-day, frenzied shopping sprees.
Mikhail Rink began his company this summer.
"I was searching for a kind of business to make money", Rink said, from an apartment turned office on the fringe of Moscow. "When you walk on the streets of Istanbul, you hear more Russian than English".
The boom in Turkish trade has picked up sharply over the past six months. Many, like Yury Vorobyov, 28, are among the new entrepreneurs who want a piece of the action.
He and several colleagues have given up their regular ruble-salaried jobs as booksellers to trek to Istanbul. They said they make twice as much as the amount they invest, partly due to the low-priced bus tours.
Though Aeroflot offers direct flights to Turkey, which last less than three hours, ticket prices are steep. Rink and his competitors offer a bargain that most cannot refuse: $90 and 5, 000 rubles covering transportation, room and board.
Rink, who now runs four trips a month with anywhere from 20 to 30 customers, said he pockets about $2, 000 each month from the four trips he orchestrates.
The trips are arduous. The journey begins in Moscow, where shoppers take a train to the Ukrainian border.
From there, tour companies hire out Hungarian Ikarus buses -- of which the last few rows of seats have been removed to make room for goods on the return trip.
The group then spends days traveling through Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey into Istanbul, heading back for Moscow three days later.
Rink admits that many of the tour operations, including his, are "not completely legal", since Russian tourists do not have documents to cover their visit to Turkey.
Bulgaria and Turkey's frontier is an open one, enabling Russians to slip through without paperwork, though it often entails a bribe.
"Every time there are problems with customs", said Rink. "Everybody knows why these people are traveling. Clients always have to pay off customs to get through. That's why we hire a tour guide -- to help them negotiate".
Ruslan Klochkov, who has safely shepherded two groups to and from Istanbul, said passing through six checkpoints within nine days is the worst part of the trip.
"Every customs officer thinks it is his responsibility to take money or things from the passengers", he said. "They always tell us to pay up or threaten to go through every inch of the bus and confiscate the goods".
Each frontier has a reputation for what they want. The Turks, Bulgarians and Russians favor cash. The Romanians want only goods. Of late, whiskey and shampoo are hot properties.
The first time Vorobyov visited Istanbul he had $700. Upon his return, he sold all his goods within four days at Luzhniki stadium and made a profit of 80, 000 rubles. Popular items of the moment include down jackets, sportswear and women's bags.
Even Moscow policeman Kirill Ivanov is taking part in the tourist boon. For $100, he said he will lead a group to Istanbul.
"I saw an ad in the paper which said go to three countries in three days and I thought 'why not? ', he said.
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