So, you want to work in Russia?  Better make sure you’re in tip-top condition, as the Federal Migration Service has just introduced a whole raft of new diseases that foreign workers must be tested for.  If you want to go get a work permit you must prove you don’t have any of the following - [deep breath]:

• HIV
• Tuberculosis
• Leprosy
• Syphilis
• Chlamidia
• Chancres

The days of getting your tests done in your home country then bringing in a translated copy of the results are over, too.  If you want a work permit in the modern Russia you must get yourself down to your underfunded local state polyclinic and wait your turn.

As you can imagine, the business community - both domestic and expat - is up in arms, fearing it will further deter foreign investment:

"We believe it is an unnecessary burden on foreigners. I mean, leprosy! What are they talking about?" said Andrew Somers, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia.

[…] "Can you imagine some top businessman going to a venereal disease clinic? They are not good places," said an official at a visa agency who asked that she and her agency not to be identified because her business depended on its contacts within the migration service.

Indeed.  Back in my day we were tested for our HIV status only, and we thought that was a burden…