Prestizh and the Black Market
| Prestizh and the Black Market | |
|---|---|
| Moravska State Archive · 1976 | |
| Classification | Society and Power |
| Status | canon |
| Last updated | 2026-11-03 |
| Archive source | 05 Society and Power/Prestizh and the Black Market.md |
| Length | 856 words (4 min read) |
| Who may enter | A foreign guest, a fleet officer, a person with a state voucher |
| What is sold | Coffee, spirits, cigarettes, denim, electronics, perfume, records |
| Payment | US dollars, West German marks, or a Prestizh voucher |
| Price level | 2 to 4 times a Western shop |
| Stock | Irregular. A delivery day is a local event |
| Internal links | 4 outgoing, 14 incoming |
| Sources | 4 cited |
Contents
[hide]Moravska bans foreign currency. A person who holds a US dollar note breaks the law. The state also runs shops that sell only for foreign currency.
The contradiction has a name. The shops are called Prestizh.
The shops [edit]
The Prestizh chain has 14 shops in 1976. Six are in Zaligrad, three in Skalina, two in Medenik, and one in each resort.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who may enter | A foreign guest, a fleet officer, a person with a state voucher |
| What is sold | Coffee, spirits, cigarettes, denim, electronics, perfume, records |
| Payment | US dollars, West German marks, or a Prestizh voucher |
| Price level | 2 to 4 times a Western shop |
| Stock | Irregular. A delivery day is a local event |
A citizen with no foreign note can buy a voucher from the state bank at 2.10 leva per dollar. The voucher is legal. The dollar is not.
|
Note:
|
The window
A Prestizh shop has a window with 6 items and no prices. A queue forms at 08:00. The queue knows the delivery truck by its sound.
|
What people want [edit]
| Good | Price (voucher dollars) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Denim trousers | 14 | Durable, a status mark |
| Coffee, 500 g | 6 | A gift for a doctor or an official |
| Cigarettes, 200 | 3 | A bribe unit |
| Cassette player | 96 | Music, and a family treasure |
| Perfume | 18 | A wedding gift |
| Whisky | 11 | A funeral and a promotion |
| Chewing gum | 1 | A child's currency |
The currency decree [edit]
The currency decree of 1962 sets the penalty for illegal currency.
| Act | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Holding a foreign note | Fine of 200 to 1,000 leva |
| Buying a foreign note | 1 to 3 years |
| Selling a foreign note | 3 to 8 years |
| Smuggling a good worth 5,000 leva | 5 to 12 years |
The decree is enforced at the port gate and at the resort. A search of a flat needs a warrant from the prosecutor.
The exchange rate [edit]
| Rate | Leva per US dollar |
|---|---|
| Official state rate | 1.30 |
| Voucher rate | 2.10 |
| Street rate (1976) | 5.40 |
| Resort rate for a Western guest | 1.30, plus a 20 dollar a day rule |
The street rate is the true rate. A worker with 10 street dollars holds a month of wages.
The second economy [edit]
The second economy has five trades.
- The repair trade. A plumber, an electrician, or a mechanic works after the shift. The customer pays cash or a good.
- The plot trade. A farm household sells vegetables and wine at the town market.
- The route trade. A fleet officer brings a cabin load. A Kray inspector lets it pass.
- The fixer trade. A person with contacts moves a good through a ministry. The trade name is vrazka ("a connection").
- The currency trade. A changer works at the fish market and takes 8 percent.
|
Warning:
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The fixer
A fixer is not a criminal in the street view. A fixer is useful. The state calls the fixer a speculator and arrests one each year as an example.
|
Who trades [edit]
| Group | Trade | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Fleet officer | Cabin goods | Loss of the travel pass |
| Kray inspector | Ignoring a cabin | Transfer, or arrest |
| Shop manager | Hiding stock | 3 to 5 years |
| Plant manager | Selling scrap | 2 to 4 years |
| Plumber | After-shift work | A fine, rarely enforced |
| Farm household | Plot surplus | Legal on the market |
| Changer | Currency | 3 to 8 years |
The gift link [edit]
The second economy runs on the gift rule. A good moves as a gift, and a return gift comes later. No paper exists. See Hospitality and Gift Rules.
The party calls the network "the small circle". The party cannot break it, because the party is inside it.
A shop in 1976 [edit]
A Prestizh shop in Zaligrad has three counters and one back room. The back room holds the good stock for a known customer.
The manager keeps two books.
- The state book. Stock in, stock out, the voucher total.
- The private book. What left the back door and who owes what.
A manager who loses the private book is in danger. A manager who keeps one book is in more danger.
Weak points [edit]
- The street rate follows a rumour. A single arrest moves the rate by 15 percent.
- A resort guest brings a demand that the stock cannot meet.
- A young officer wants a share that the old officer will not give.
- The Kray and the ministry do not share a price.
Other notes [edit]
See also[edit]
Sources[edit]
- Investigative file Zaligrad Editorial Board (1977). KORZO dossier: Branishte file. Ministry of the Interior. KOR-1977-7117. Cited in A shop in 1976, Weak points. See also Lexicon.
- Monograph S. Radulova (1977). Settlement and custom in Branishte. Zaligrad University Press. ZUP-1977-2443. Cited in What people want, Other notes. See also Music.
- Primary source S. Radulova (1973). Field notes from the the Zala valley survey. Zaligrad Institute of Ethnography. ZIE-1973-8001. Cited in What people want, The exchange rate. See also Sport and Doping Control.
- Official document M. Dragova (1975). Ministry circular on regional administration in the old coast. Ministry of Culture. MOC-1975-7770. Cited in A shop in 1976, Who trades. See also Trade and Comecon.
References[edit]
Documents in the archive that cite or cross-reference Prestizh and the Black Market:
- ^ "Boyan Yanev". People, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Dissent and Control". Friction and Subcultures, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Economy 1976". Society and Power, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Generational Tension". Friction and Subcultures, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Hospitality and Gift Rules". Culture, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Lexicon". Language, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Merchant Marine Caste". Society and Power, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Moravska". Foundations, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Music". Arts and Leisure, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Natural Resources". Foundations, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Political System". Society and Power, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Social Structure". Culture, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Sport and Doping Control". Society and Power, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Trade and Comecon". Society and Power, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.