Russia announced today that it is introducing a mandatory medical examination and fingerprinting of all foreigners - measures that have already provoked strong objections, BTA reports.

According to the law, from the first weeks of the new year the medical examinations will be performed every three months, incl. blood and X-ray tests or computed tomography for some of them. Russia's foreign ministry said it would provide "favorable conditions" for foreign journalists and their families.

The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) has already warned that if implemented consistently, the new rules will have consequences for the Russian economy. If businesses are affected, there is a risk that "a large number of important foreign managers will leave Russia," the chamber said. In a letter to the Russian government earlier this month, she called for the rules to be relaxed.

With the change, Russian authorities want to test foreigners for tuberculosis, syphilis and HIV. Anyone who refuses runs the risk of losing their work permit. According to GRCC, the results of the tests will be sent to the immigration authorities, and fingerprinting will be required.

Authorities in Russia say the health measure will benefit the country. But the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta asks if it is really discrimination. It is not yet clear whether if medical tests show a foreigner's illness, they will have to leave the country or suffer some other consequences.

/ClubZ