9 January 2026
The last channel for supplying Western goods to Russia began to rapidly close in 2025. The volume of “parallel imports,” which was launched shortly after the war began to supply the economy with products from departed Western companies, had almost halved by the end of last year, Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov told TASS .
From January to November 2025, goods worth $20.9 billion entered Russia through “parallel import” mechanisms—that is, imports without the copyright holder’s permission—a 45% decrease compared to the same period last year (2024) ($37.9 billion).
Monthly parallel import volumes fell to $2 billion from $4 billion when the mechanism was first introduced. “The initial forecast of $25 billion in 2025 no longer appears relevant. Data from the Federal Customs Service of Russia indicates a steady trend toward a significant decline in parallel import volumes,” Alikhanov said.
Last year, the government removed cosmetics and perfumes from “unfriendly” countries from the list of goods eligible for parallel import. The Ministry of Industry and Trade also announced an exemption from parallel imports for clothing and electronics, which, according to the authorities, have been replaced by “friendly” or domestic suppliers.
At the end of the year, Vladimir Putin imposed a new ban on importers, demanding that shipments of goods entering Kazakhstan be “whitewashed.” Customs officials were given the right to confiscate goods without a full set of documents, and increased border checks led to kilometer-long queues.
According to importers and logistics specialists, up to 10% of all Russian imports were stuck at the border with Kazakhstan by November, which even created problems with product availability for some companies—especially marketplace sellers.
Overall import volumes in 2025 decreased slightly—by 2.4% compared to the previous year, and by 5.4% compared to the pre-war 2021, according to experts at the Gaidar Institute. “Positive dynamics are primarily demonstrated by consumer goods, while groups that contain investment goods remain below pre-sanction levels.” This reflects both the ongoing sanctions restrictions on foreign trade and the high cost of borrowing, which limits investment activity,” experts point out.
According to the Federal Customs Service, $224.4 billion worth of goods were imported into Russia from January to October. The Gaidar Institute predicts that imports will total $275 billion by the end of the year.
https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/09/import-zapadnih-tovarov-vrossiyu-ruhnul-vdvoe-zagod-a184192