Despite the rise in trade between Tajikistan and Russia, in November the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) imposed a ban on the use of foreign workers in retail trade in Russia. The new rule affects those working in the purchase and sale of such commodities as alcoholic products and medicines, and market traders. According to Muhiddin Kabiri, a Tajik parliamentary deputy and leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), who has in the past worked in retail trade in Russia, the new law will deprive many Tajik migrant workers of jobs and could affect the flow of remittances to Tajikistan. According to Mr Kabiri, the number of Tajik workers in the retail trade sector is a fairly low proportion of the estimated 1m-1.5m Tajik migrants working in Russia. However, Mr Kabiri claims that those Tajiks working in the retail trade sector are more independent and better off than others who, for example, work in the construction industry, where earnings are lower. According to the Tajik Presidential Centre for Strategic Research, 25-30% of Tajik migrant workers in Russia are involved in services and trade.