Prof Ruben Eniklopov of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona characterized the cumulative pressure on the sector as a series of damaging events, telling the BBC: "There are already a lot of nails, and they keep hammering them in. Is [the attack on Wildberries warehouses] another nail in the coffin? Well, yes, of course."
Ukrainian Drone Strikes Damage Wildberries Retail Warehouses
The retail sector has faced direct physical threats as well. Ukrainian drone strikes have targeted oil depots, refineries, and supply routes, triggering a nationwide fuel crisis. Most recently, Ukrainian drones hit several retail warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer, in a matter of days. These disruptions exacerbate an environment where the civilian economy is increasingly starved of growth as the war in Ukraine consumes national resources. While Russia holds financial reserves accumulated during peacetime, oil and gas revenues are 23% lower than in the first six months of last year.
Russian Investigative Committee Raids Eksmo Publishing Offices
Repression and the Shrinking Space for Expression
The economic instability coincides with a broader tightening of state control. Four years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government is intensifying its repressive apparatus. In recent weeks, authorities have launched a new round of high-profile political arrests and raids.
On Tuesday, officials from Russia’s Investigative Committee raided the offices of Eksmo, one of Russia’s largest publishers. The raid followed a year-old criminal investigation into allegations of LGBTQ propaganda.
The investigation focused on the publisher’s imprint, Popcorn Books, which had released the 2021 bestseller "Summer in a Pioneer Tie," a young-adult novel depicting a romance between two men at a Soviet summer camp. Authorities shut down the Popcorn Books imprint in January after detaining several individuals connected to the publishing house last year. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, top Eksmo managers were released on bail following questioning.
Supreme Court Designates Memorial as an Extremist Entity
This crackdown aligns with the Kremlin’s broader policy of positioning the state as a defender of traditional values. In 2023, the Supreme Court of Russia declared the international LGBTQ movement
an extremist organization, establishing potential criminal penalties for activism or the publication of materials deemed contrary to state-sanctioned values.
The pressure on independent institutions extends to the press as well. Earlier this month, police raided the offices of Novaya Gazeta, an independent newspaper whose co-founder won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. The Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported that journalist Oleg Roldugin was detained for questioning regarding a criminal case involving the alleged illegal mishandling of personal data. Roldugin denied guilt ahead of a hearing. Novaya Gazeta had previously been forced to shut down its print edition after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though it continues to operate online. The raid on the newspaper occurred on the same day the Supreme Court designated the human-rights organization Memorial as an “extremist” entity.
As the government bans platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it is simultaneously pushing for the adoption of a state-controlled messaging app called MAX as the population’s default portal for digital services. These digital blackouts and the crackdown on communication tools have further hindered the ability of businesses and citizens to operate, contributing to what some observers describe as a spring of discontent.
