According to a recent report by Moscow's Higher School of Economics, 24 percent of the goods sold in 2009 in Russia's major retail sectors, including apparel, footwear, medicines, alcohol, tobacco, household chemicals and cosmetics, were counterfeit.
The sales of fake products accounted for approximately USD 31 billion (EUR 22 billion), which was six percent of Russia's total retail turnover in 2009.
The report, issued on September 23, 2010, blames the economic crisis for the increase in the sales of fake goods and states that the positive trends from previous years turned negative in 2008 and 2009.
The study was commissioned by RusBrand, the association of branded goods manufacturers, in an effort to raise awareness about the counterfeiting problem in Russia.
The Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan may lead to an even greater number of fake goods entering Russia. Once the border between Russia and Kazakhstan is lifted, it will reportedly be easier for Chinese and Indian counterfeits to find their way into Russia because of the poorly protected Kazakh-Kyrgyz border.
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