Why Russia

Here are a few facts on Russia you might find interesting:

1. Russia is the largest country in the world by territory with the population of 146 million. Russian economy ranks №6 by PPP GDP outpacing such economies as Australia, Canada, France and UK. Just 20 years ago Russia was a smaller economy than Miami.

2. Russian market is only about 20 years old, there is still enough room for a good product or service on it. People here consume more as their income grows. The average nominal salary in Russia grew from $80,00/month in 2000 to more than $900,00/month in 2014. Middle class is set to expand, and lots of consumers are still craving for products and services which are a matter of course in the developed world.

3. Russia joined WTO in 2012 which means it opened up its markets and made international trading easier for all of us. On top of that Russia is a member of Eurasian Economic Union with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan which gives automatic entry to a single market of 182 million people, and the Eurasian Union is set to grow adding new markets and consumers.

4. We find it exciting that for the past 5 years there have opened more cafes in Moscow than did in the past 8 centuries. Russia has or is set to become №1 European car, Internet (by number of users), and children’s goods market. It is also the first market of European fruit and vegetables outside the European Union when we don’t impose sanctions against each other of course :). Russia is currently the world’s largest import market for some foods including such a basic product as cheese and we can continue the list.

Yes, we know about the difficulties and barriers which still exist and will not dissolve tomorrow. We can draft a long list of them but why being negative? Throughout your professional career you probably have seen no good gain without a risk. And you need to go to new markets to grow.