Russia's deteriorating economy has led to a rise in child prostitution in Moscow, where schoolgirls now openly solicit on Red Square or in front of the Lenin Museum, a newspaper reported Saturday.
More than 1,000 child prostitutes as young as 7 operate in the Russian capital, the Komsomol-skaya Pravda newspaper reported.Under communism, open street solicitation was rare. Soviets would pick up prostitutes around railroad stations.
The newspaper report said most of the child prostitutes are runaways working for pimps who find them in railroad stations, but that some are sold into prostitution by their parents.
"Tramps and alcoholics don't hesitate to sell their daughters for about 30,000 rubles ($100)," it said. Child prostitutes working with pimps charge up to $450 in foreign currency for one hour, the paper said. The average monthly Russian salary is about $16.