Over 40% of Russians believe that most Western companies that left the country will return within a year, while another 26% believe it will take the companies from 3 to 5 years to come back, according to Synergy University research seen by TASS.
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"Forty-two percent of those polled believe most Western companies that left the country will come back within a year.
Another 26% believe it will take the companies 3 to 5 years to return.
According to 24% of respondents, the Western companies will come back in 5 to 10 years, and another 8% do not expect the companies to resume operations at all," the research says.
It is notable that 36% of respondents believe that the withdrawal of a number of foreign companies from Russia will have a positive impact on the domestic economy, while 24% expect negative consequences; 40% of those polled stated that the mass outflow of foreign brands will have little impact on the economic situation in Russia.
Survey participants who were neutral or optimistic about the departure of Western companies from the Russia relayed what they considered the pros of the current situation: 43% said it will reduce Russia's dependence on foreign manufacturers, 23% said it would free the country from the need to comply with Western policies, 18% said it would encourage the development of domestic business, 4% said it would free up jobs for Russian specialists and 12% were undecided.
The research reveals that 58% of respondents believe Russian business will be able to fully or almost fully replace foreign brands that have left the country, while 42% opined that domestic entrepreneurs are only partially able to do so. According to 47% of respondents, Chinese brands will come to fill the gap in the market, along with Russian companies.
A quarter of respondents expect the arrival of Indian brands, 19% of Russians believe it will be Turkish brands, and another 9% believe companies from the CIS countries will fill the gap.
Some 39% of respondents approve of nationalizing the assets of companies that have left the country, while 26% are against the idea and another 35% were undecided. The research revealed that 55% of citizens don’t approve of the personal sanctions that have been imposed on Russian businessmen and their families, 28% feel neutral about the measure, and 17% spoke in favor of it.
While 63% of Russians believe that the conditions in Russia today are favorable for entrepreneurship, 37% take a diametrically opposite stance. Sixty-nine percent of respondents say that now is the right time to pursue a business education, while 31% disagreed. The majority of respondents (76%) believe it is necessary to provide Russian business with as much support as possible, including through tax breaks and the abolition of routine inspections, while 24% were against giving businesses additional incentives.
The research was conducted in March, with over 5,000 adults polled across Russia. ■