Putin recalls foreign companies that were ‘almost in tears’ on leaving Russia
Some western companies that had to leave Russia after the start of the military conflict in Ukraine in 2022 were “almost in tears”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 25 October. When some companies left Russia “under pressure from western European governments”, “our friends from those countries were almost in tears”, Putin said in an interview with the Vesti news service.
“Some of them, incidentally, are still operating, and we are trying to create appropriate, favourable conditions for them,” Putin added.
Among the largest international companies remaining in Russia are the US groups PepsiCo, Mars and Philip Morris International, Japan’s JT Group, Switzerland’s Nestlé and Germany’s Metro and Globus. At the same time, the assets of 26 foreign companies are currently under temporary management (their owners remain foreign but cannot influence management). They include such large groups as Auchan, Metro and Nestlé.
Putin said recently that, through the temporary management regime, Russia is “not nationalising anything” and that foreigners retain the possibility of getting their assets back.
Most US companies continue to operate in Russia despite the departure of some big brands, Robert Agee, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said in the summer.
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02.11.26