“You will never notice the difference between our condoms and Durex products,” explains businessman Alexander Gerstein of the Russian media group RBK. “Both are based on the same raw materials and the same technologies. That’s why I thought that from now on Durex should be manufactured in our partner’s Russian plant.”
This isn’t just about condoms. No, it’s also about property rights in Russia, which are currently just as flexible as the rights of a state in general that is in a so-called “special military operation”. Where some see nothing but shame and darkness, others discover bright opportunities.
The resourceful entrepreneurs are not alone. Nivea, Dior, BMW, Mastercard, Pampers — Applications for these and dozens of other brands from various previously undisclosed organizations have been pouring into Rospatent, the state agency responsible for enforcing intellectual property laws, throughout March is. The various applicants are united by an almost inexhaustible wealth of ideas reminiscent of the wild 90s in Russia.
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Under the Audi brand it is now proposed to sell cleaning products and perfumes. Based on the Swedish “Ikea”, the new brand “Idea” wants to produce affordable furniture and instead of Nespresso coffee machines and capsules, NeZpresso products are to be manufactured – the letter “Z” as a symbol of the brave Russian liberation army is supposed to be the same for the new owners protect against legal consequences.
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It is not yet clear whether the companies will actually be able to successfully register the hijacked brands. But the companies seem to be hoping that as relations with so-called “unfriendly countries” continue to deteriorate, Russia will no longer recognize their intellectual property. In Russian there is an old proverb for such deals: “For some it’s war, for others it’s a caring mother.”
Borrowing from Swedish Ikea, a new Russian brand Idea wants to produce affordable furniture.
(Photo: dpa)
A role model for dubious entrepreneurs is the state itself, which questions the protection of private property – if this is attributable to western investors who have withdrawn from the Russian market. Immediately after the closure of the McDonald’s branches, the Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, called for the establishment of a Russian fast-food chain “At Uncle Vanya” – of course using the branches that had just been closed. A month has passed since then and the branches are still empty.
However, Russian patriotism and a sense of impunity inspire a startling confidence. For example with the former Russian partners of the German retail chain OBI. In mid-March, despite the German leadership’s decision to close all branches, they just tried to continue working – as if nothing had happened. Confident of success, Russian managers reopened the OBI markets on the morning of March 17th.
But in the afternoon, the German side simply separated the tills from the servers – the new “owners” didn’t have their own software. For several weeks they have been working tirelessly to eliminate their “technical failures”.
Neither the roar of the air strikes on Ukrainian cities nor the footage of residents being shot dead reach most Russian citizens, who continue to believe in the “denazification of Ukraine” by Putin, who allegedly simply “had no other choice”.
Confused, they stand in front of empty shopping shelves and closed shops. Signs for Zara, H&M, Adidas and many other brands have now been crossed out in front of the elevators and escalators. “Oops, what happened?” the Russian buyer will probably ask themselves – and maybe he or she will actually think about what happened.
It is paradoxical, but with Russian disregard for Western values and lifestyles has come all these years an admiration for Western goods. Every wealthy Russian citizen could choose between a German and a Russian car, between a Chinese and an American smartphone without hesitation.
Smuggling of European clothing could be next
Retail experts agree that illegal shipments of iPhones via third countries will soon be a big hit again. The same applies to the smuggling of European clothing. And it will be similar to how it was in the late phase of the Soviet Union, when Italian jeans or French perfumes could be bought from so-called speculators. These traders either traded in counterfeits or were in contact with foreigners visiting the self-isolated country.
In an atmosphere of outright lies, whether these Western brands turn out to be genuine and whether access to them is legal is irrelevant. Much seems to be an illusion these days in Russia, a country that is on the one hand advancing towards totalitarianism and on the other hand dreams of Ikea kitchens.
The Russian journalist Konstantin Goldenzweig writes the weekly column “Russian Impressions” for the Handelsblatt. The 39-year-old was a correspondent in Germany for various Russian TV stations from 2010 to 2020. Most recently, he worked at Dozhd, the last independent Russian TV station, until it had to shut down. In March 2022 he fled Moscow to continue working in Georgia – like many of his Russian colleagues.
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