Shoppers at Russian electronics chains such as M-Video and Holodilnik can choose from a “surprisingly wide range” of German products, Germany’s public broadcaster ARD reported on its website on Monday, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
Moreover, German goods are available “at standard prices, sometimes even more affordable than in Germany,” ARD added.
German-made products are also available in Russian supermarkets and specialist stores, Poland’s forsal.pl website reported.
There is no ban on the sale of such goods to Russia, but many German manufacturers had vowed to “withdraw” from the Russian market and “halt supplies” to Russia over its war on Ukraine, ARD noted.
In Russian supermarkets, “shelves are full of German beer, gumdrops and chocolate,” including the Ritter Sport chocolate, according to the German public broadcaster.
Ritter Sport openly continues to deliver its products to Russia, because “the company believes halting supplies for the Russian people won’t have a lasting impact on those responsible for this devastating war,” ARD reported, as cited by the PAP news agency.
Profits from Ritter Sport’s Russian operations are donated to charities, ARD added.
There are also many German-branded shops in Russia, such as Stihl and Kärcher, including 20 in Moscow alone, forsal.pl reported.
The outdoor power-equipment maker Stihl said it had halted deliveries to Russia in March 2022, and the products still available in Russia had been supplied before the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s regional broadcaster SWR reported, as cited by PAP.
Despite European Union sanctions on the sale of cars to Russia, German brands such as Porsche, VW, BMW and Mercedes Benz are available in Moscow car shops, SWR added.
According to German car makers, this is the result of “unauthorised” import of German vehicles to Russia, the PAP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, German clothing and sports-equipment brands are also available to buy in the shops around the Russian capital, SWR also reported, as cited by forsal.pl.
Wednesday is day 567 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: PAP, forsal.pl