56% of Russians want Western brands to return after war-driven exodus, survey finds

More than half of Russians — 56 percent — want Western brands to return to the country after those companies departed following the start of the full-scale war in 2022, according to a survey conducted by the research association Gruppa 7/89 in February and March 2026, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they want Western automakers back. Twenty-eight percent want producers of films, music, and video games to return, while 27 percent named software makers, 25 percent furniture and building materials manufacturers, 23 percent food and beverage producers, and 22 percent cosmetics companies.

Support for the return of Western brands is strongest among respondents between the ages of 18 and 29, at 84 percent — compared with 38 percent among those 60 and older. About a quarter of respondents (27 percent) do not want Western brands to return at all; another 17 percent said they were unsure. Residents of large cities were more likely to want the brands back.

After the full-scale war began in 2022, dozens of major Western companies — manufacturers of clothing, furniture, food, and other goods — left Russia. A wave of nationalization followed, with the assets of departing Western companies first transferred to Rosimushchestvo, the federal property management agency, and then to businesspeople loyal to the Russian government.

Most foreign companies that left Russia have retained their trademarks — but many have already faced the threat of losing them. Western companies are not yet planning to return to Russia — and Russian authorities have said that no special market privileges will be granted to them if they do.