Residents of the Russian Far East town are required to show their IDs when buying chicken eggs.

The shortage of food in the Chukotka autonomous region of Russia’s Far East has forced the local authorities to reinstate Soviet practices of limiting distribution per capita.

In Bilibino, a town of 5,000 people northwest of the region’s capital Anadyr, residents are required to show their IDs to vendors in order to buy a dozen of chicken eggs. Their names are introduced in sales books to keep records who has already taken a maximum number of eggs in a given period. 

The news about the shortage of food in Bilibino appears in a Telegram account of a 31 May working visit undertaken by Vladislav Kuznetsov, acting head of the Chukotka region, to the town.

He was there to collect petitions from the locals and assess their needs.

"I was told that eggs are being sold to people only with an ID - an approach reminiscent of the 1990s! I have instructed them to quickly create a sufficient stock of eggs in Bilibino to meet the demand," Kuznetsov wrote in his Telegram account. 

Following the visit, the regional leader urged the local authorities to ensure that more food is produced and shipped to Chukotka residents.

The official noted that a poultry farm was being built in Bilibino, which the authorities expect to become operational this year. Before that happens, the local administration has to solve the problem with the missing feed for chicken.

The eggs are currently shipped from Anadyr, which is 635 kilometers away from Bilibino. A small amount of eggs is also distributed to a few villages around the town.

Food shortages in Russia’s Far East regions have been reported on a regular basis during the past decade. One reason is they are a long way from agricultural producers and the other is the poor logistic conditions.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, food shortages are reported more frequently in remote areas of the country. Prices have doubled or tripled for certain foods, which turned into luxury commodities.