OREANDA-NEWS Despite the promise to leave Russia after the start of the Ukrainian conflict, most Western companies remain and continue to work in the country, writes journalist Robin Dixon in an article for The Washington Post. According to her, researchers from the Swiss University of St. Gallen found that by November 2022, less than nine percent of Western companies with subsidiaries in the country had left Russia.

The remaining foreign firms in the country are heavily dependent on local businesses and do not want to leave because of the financial losses associated with this action, the author added.

When Western companies left Russia, they thought that everything would collapse, but Russian business easily replaced them in the market, President Vladimir Putin said earlier.

"When Western companies left us, they thought that everything would collapse right away, but nothing like that happened. The participants of economic activity in Russia have grown up, become stronger, they have their own level of culture, their own established connections all over the world. They easily and simply replaced the outgoing ones," the head of state pointed out.

According to him, production in the segment of small and medium-sized businesses is growing, and the vacant market was immediately filled with goods from domestic manufacturers.

He also stressed that the Russian economy has been showing positive dynamics since July last year, including due to the development of business niches of Western companies in the market, as well as due to the active development of ties with the fast-growing economies of the East and South.