News

The U.S. corporation The Coca-Cola Company has filed a statement of claim with the Moscow Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court against Coca-Cola Company LLC registered in South Ossetia (the republic is recognised by several UN member states, including Russia), according to information in the court's database. The lawsuit has not yet been accepted for hearing. The details of Coca-Cola's claims are not disclosed.

The Coca-Cola Company suspended operations in Russia in spring 2022. Three years later, PKV from the Novosibirsk region (founder Konstantin Muravyev) began offering Coca-Cola-branded drinks to retail chains, with the South Ossetian Coca-Cola Company acting as their producer, Kommersant reported in March 2025. To date, it is not clear whether South Ossetian Coca-Cola has appeared in any retail chains. 

In Russia, The Coca-Cola Company is the current owner of the Coke and Coca-Cola trademarks. In the Russian retail business, original Coca-Cola supplies come from Iran, Azerbaijan and other countries, Kommersant said.

The arbitrazh (commercial) court's records list the respondent's address as Gorkogo Tupik 6, Tskhinvali [the South Ossetian capital], Russia. There is no public online register of South Ossetian legal entities.

According to Kommersant, in April 2024, Gulnazi Kokoeva, deputy head of the South Ossetian Metrology and Standardisation Committee, told local media that other brands of The Coca Cola Company – Fanta and Sprite – had already been registered in the republic. The republic is not among the 200 countries that have signed the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Kokoeva said.

To produce Coca-Cola-flavoured sodas, a compound (flavour base) is needed. Anton Stelmakov, co-founder of Famous Amazing Brands, told Kommersant that such raw materials are now available in several flavours and prices from all major manufacturers. Only half of consumers will distinguish the original Coca-Cola from its clone in terms of taste, he suggested. Supplies of dubious Coca-Cola are unlikely to interest large retail chains, Infoline-Analytics said, although such drinks could appear in non-network retailers.