Most Russians are in favor of Western companies returning to the country
4 May 16:18
Most Russians (56%) want Western companies to return to Russia. Most often, citizens mention the need to bring back manufacturers of automobiles (41%), movies, music, and computer games (28%), software (27%), furniture and building materials (25%), food and beverages (23%), as well as cosmetics (22%). This was revealed by a survey conducted by the research company “Group 7/89,” the results of which are being published by Russian propaganda media, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
At the same time, 27% of Russians do not want Western brands to return, and another 17% were unable to answer this question. The younger the respondents, the higher the proportion of those who want the brands that left to return to Russia. For example, 84% of citizens aged 18 to 29 feel this way, compared to 38% in the 60-and-older age group. Men and women are almost equally eager to see Western companies resume operations in the country (55% and 57%, respectively).
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It also turned out that the larger the settlement, the more often its residents want to see Western manufacturers on the Russian market. For example, in Moscow, 66% of respondents said this, while 24% opposed it. At the same time, in cities with populations under 100,000, 49% of respondents want the departed brands to return, compared to 32% who do not. In rural areas, 32% are waiting for their return, but the majority—48%—are opposed.
Citizens with the most experience consuming Western products are most likely to speak of the need to bring Western companies back to the country, notes Vladimir Zvonovsky, director of the Social Research Foundation. According to him, rural residents are the most disconnected from the Western market due to limited awareness and generally low levels of consumption of foreign products.
The departure of Western brands has been most noticeable to residents of large cities with relatively high incomes, confirmed Alexander Safonov, a professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. He noted that it is still possible to purchase Western goods in Russia, but the delivery process itself has become more complicated due to parallel imports. That is why the problem with purchasing now lies not in physical unavailability, but in the increased complexity and cost of access, Safonov explained.
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