Russian citizens may receive a present from the Industry and Trade Ministry for the May holidays. The Russian outlet Izvestia learned that the ministry plans to restrict parallel imports — goods imported without the permission of the intellectual property owner, typically by bypassing official distribution channels — so that only a limited number of brands can enter the country.

The Kremlin will surely justify this by saying they are protecting consumers from low-quality foreign products. That is the same justification Soviet authorities gave for the absence of basic goods from abroad.

My first thought was that this is an effort to entice back Western companies which are holding off on returning to Russia despite friendly noises. In fact, brands that left at the beginning of the war are being asked to return to the country.

But so far, everything we know has come from Russian sources. Russian manufacturers and their lobbyists are loudly arguing that companies that pulled out of the country in 2022 should not be welcomed back — let them pay and repent. 

President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to determine by May 15 how foreign companies that left Russia can buy back their assets, many of which have been sold off. The domestic manufacturing lobby appears to have taken the upper hand. The document seen by Izvestia orders the creation of a list of “fugitives,” while returnees........

© The Moscow Times