This idea was put forward by Roman Plugin, head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, during his annual report to the city parliament.
The tragedy, which occurred in the "City Mall" shopping center, led to a verbal conflict between the guards and the customer, which eventually escalated into a physical fight. The young man was held until the police arrived, but he lost consciousness and later died in the hospital.
The Investigative Committee classified the actions of the guards as murder committed by a group of individuals. One of the guards fled from law enforcement and went to Uzbekistan, and he is now wanted.
Following this incident, law enforcement agencies began inspections to ensure compliance with migration legislation in the stores of the chain. During the latest operation, 64 illegal migrants were discovered.
"The retail chain is illegally employing migrants. We are currently in the second stage of inspections to assess the chain's response to our remarks," said Roman Plugin.
He also noted that, according to Russian laws, foreigners are not allowed to work in private security companies; however, businesses find ways to circumvent this ban by employing migrants in other positions. A new law, which is set to come into effect on September 1, 2026, is expected to address this issue.
In this context, Plugin spoke about the preparation of an initiative that could introduce a complete ban on the employment of migrants in the retail and wholesale trade. According to him, in 2025, about five thousand employees with patents worked in stores, many of whom could have been working illegally.
It is worth noting that there is already a ban on the employment of migrants in taxis and delivery services in St. Petersburg, which applies to arrivals from visa-free countries such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Moldova, and Ukraine.
