OREANDA-NEWS  The vast majority of Western companies continue to operate in the Russian market almost a year and a half after the start of the military conflict in Ukraine. Only 17 percent of foreign firms have left the country amid international sanctions, according to a joint report by the Kiev School of Economics (HSE) and the non-governmental organization B4Ukraine.

At the same time, the remaining 83 percent of Western firms operating in the country at the time of the outbreak of the conflict continued to make profits on the Russian market and pay taxes to the local federal budget. We are talking about 1,146 foreign companies, their total revenue from work in Russia amounted to $ 177.2 billion by the end of 2022.

Almost a quarter of the total income tax paid in 2022 came to the Russian budget from companies with headquarters in the G7 countries. In 2023, a number of large international companies continue to pay taxes to the Russian budget, despite the continuing reputational, financial and legal risks.

The reluctance of some foreign companies to finally withdraw from the Russian market may be due to the regulatory requirements of local authorities. Earlier it was reported that about 2,000 Western firms faced problems due to the need to obtain approval for the sale of assets from the government commission on foreign Investment.

Prior to that, the Associated Press (AP) agency, with reference to the Yale University database, reported that since the end of February 2022, about 500 foreign companies have left the Russian market. The same number of firms were forced to partially curtail business activities in the country.