Forbidden luxury enters Russia from the south The constant flow of high-end cars, jewelry, and watches shows the limits of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. Parallel imports of cell phones and clothing are also on the rise It is not just oil, airplanes or dual-use (civilian and military) products. The successive packages of sanctions against Russia approved by the EU, the United States, and the United Kingdom also contained — and contain — important restrictions on the sale of luxury Western products, so much to the taste of the Russian elites: high-end cars, watches, and jewelry.
Products that should not have been entering the Eurasian giant since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. That is the theory; the reality, however, runs along other paths: almost three years later, the wealthiest still lack nothing. The Hermès and LVMH stores in Moscow were among the first to close their doors, shortly after the start of the war and ahead of mass consumption.
Shortly afterwards, the Maybach and Rolls-Royce dealers followed suit, leaving a minority — 55% of Russian workers earn less than $600 a month and nine out of 10 less than $1,000 — without any way of accessing their whims. For a short time. Under the table, the flow of high-end products from neighboring countries has been a constant since then.
The latest international customs data point in this direction, where a strong growth — practically vertical — of imports from countries such as Georgia o.