Some foreign brands that suspended exports to Russia in 2022 may return to the Russian market in a restricted form — a scheme described as a "limited and indirect" return is now under development, RBC reported, citing its own sources.
The approach would apply to goods not subject to sanctions. Rather than (re)establishing their own subsidiaries, some international manufacturers are currently exploring controlled sales of original products on the Russian market while minimising sanctions risks.
An increasing number of companies are now thinking about selling in Russia because "money needs to be made", a source at a company engaged in parallel imports of goods including Italian coffee and Swiss watches told RBC. Falling revenues in Europe and instability in the Middle East are also reportedly stimulating renewed interest in the Russian market.
At the same time, international manufacturers want to avoid Russia-related exposure. "The question used to be how to exit Russia carefully; now a group of clients is starting to discuss sales in Russia on some kind of sustainable model," the source said.
Return scenarios are also being considered at the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham Russia). "Since the new US administration came to power in 2025, we have sensed very cautious interest from companies that left. We have been engaging with them in very different formats for a year and a half," an AmCham representative said. "And we thought, why not create a product we called an advisory desk, so that when American companies approach us, we could immediately direct them to companies that specialise in a particular area," the representative added.
Dealing with parallel imports
According to RBC's sources, the new model would be an "old-new" alternative to the existing parallel import system in place since 2022. Under the proposed scheme, a lead foreign distributor for the CIS region could be established. A contract could be signed either with the distributor's Russian legal entity or with a foreign one. In this way, the foreign brand owner would avoid having its own office in Russia while managing sales, pricing and market reach through the partner.
It is important to note that only goods not on sanctions lists would be distributed under this model. For example, these could be consumer goods such as clothing, toys and sporting goods, or non-sanctioned industrial goods such as ordinary spare parts. The brand and distributor could jointly manage pricing policy and product range.
Under the current system, there is no guarantee that a foreign product purchased on a marketplace is genuine.
Parallel imports involve bringing original foreign goods into the country without the rights holder's permission. The list of eligible goods is defined by the Ministry of Industry and Trade; customs declarations for parallel imports must specify the commodity code and the name of the brand owner.
"Indeed, Western non-sanctioned goods are making their way into Russia one way or another through parallel imports, but the brand has no control over this. Everyone has long since accepted that any brand that officially left Russia can be purchased in various ways, primarily online. And it is always something of a lottery," Dmitry Sherstobitov, managing partner of Alphabet Group, told RBC.
Parallel imports, he said, create significant risks of counterfeit goods being sold as originals (though parallel imports do not in themselves legalise counterfeits) as well as problems with the absence of proper servicing and warranty support, and difficulties with spare parts and consumables. Parallel importers also compete through discounts, which means only large players with the capacity for aggressive pricing survive. As a result, original goods disappear from shelves in the regions, as smaller and mid-sized players cannot compete on price or volume.
For the new import model to work, a brand would need to be removed from the list of goods eligible for parallel import. As one source of the publication explained, the authorities would need to establish that the brand is "in effect somewhat returning." Removal from the list means that the rights holder's permission would be required for the goods to be imported.
Under the new scheme, sellers in Russia would in theory be able to purchase original goods from the brand owner directly, but the brand owner simply would not deal with them, having agreed terms exclusively with the lead distributor. "The proposed new model would benefit everyone: the manufacturer retains the market and control while avoiding the sanctions risk of a direct return to Russia — original goods would be sold at a fair price, and higher turnover would mean more tax revenues and the preservation of jobs in the regions," RBC quoted Sherstobitov as saying.
Experts warn that parallel imports have features that make the system inefficient, including for the original manufacturer. In particular, once geopolitical tensions ease, rights holders may begin bringing claims for unauthorised use of their trademarks, they suggest.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the volume of parallel imports into Russia in the first four months of 2026 totalled $6.3 billion. Deputy minister Roman Chekushov noted that parallel import volumes are declining as new domestic production comes on stream and imports are reoriented towards goods from friendly countries.
Goods currently entering Russia via parallel imports include Adidas sportswear and footwear (imported by Lamoda), Reebok, Puma and Quiksilver (distributed in Russia by Turkish company FLO Mağazacılık), and products from PVH Group, which owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands. Industry sources say that in some cases foreign manufacturers do not obstruct such parallel imports.
What obstacles could arise
The main barrier to western goods entering Russia is not so much sanctions regulation as "self-sanctioning" — or overcompliance — that many international companies apply voluntarily, lawyers say. Even where a shipment is not formally prohibited, manufacturers remain wary of secondary sanctions risk and potential reputational damage. For many producers, a return in any form is therefore driven not by legal prohibition but by a combination of commercial and compliance risks.
Konstantin Pozdnyakov, economic adviser to the rector of the Russian State Social University, cited by RBC, believes some foreign manufacturers may indeed be interested in resuming an official presence in the Russian market: if their goods are reaching the market through parallel imports anyway, seeking to regain control of that process would be a logical step.
The most likely model, he suggests, would involve independent distributors with no formal ties to the manufacturer. They could be registered in third-country jurisdictions such as the UAE, Turkey or China, purchasing goods from manufacturers officially for their own markets before re-exporting to Russia.
A return to official supplies would nonetheless require a shift in the political environment, an easing of sanctions pressure or the development of legal arrangements acceptable to international companies, he stressed.
At the recent St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his position: the return of foreign companies would be possible if they had conducted themselves appropriately. "We will be watching carefully — if those partners who left our market two or three years ago did not make too much of a mess or behave badly, we will welcome their return," he said, adding that Russia would in any case act in the interests of domestic business.