# Why are there no Russian consumer products? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323 "2019-07-01T02:52:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/21 "2019-07-01T18:34:06Z")
If I understood the statistics from the washing machines article correctly, Russian exports of washing machines amount to roughly a tenth that of Germany and half that of China. So, definitely no powerhouse, but it’s not like nobody can put any consumer products together there (hence the IKEA investments and so forth, taking advantage of cheap Russian labour). What seems more worrying for such a huge country is the lack of economic complexity compared to advanced economies such as Sweden. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/22 "2019-07-01T18:37:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A big spike around 1998, another around 2015, maxing out at 82+RUB to 1$. Currently in the 60s. > > So some serious inflation. Not sure how much of this has to do with natural gas, etc. Such spikes are more of an indication of idiots in charge of the government. And that can really mess up an economy more than valuable exports. Low oil prices were a factor in both cases but the major causes were: [Russian Ruble crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Russian_financial_crisis#Crisis_and_effects) in 1998 [Krim and Donbass crisis, escalation of the latter, MH17 and sanctions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine_(2014%E2%80%93present)#March%E2%80%93July_2014) No question, these were huge setbacks, and continue to be enormous drags on the process of turning Russia into a “normal” country. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/23 "2019-07-01T18:44:35Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I was curious about the value of the Russian ruble (“RUB”) against the US dollar. So I went over to [here](https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/currency) (click historical, then max). > > Their earliest value is given as nearly on par with the dollar in 1993. A big spike around 1998, another around 2015, maxing out at 82+RUB to 1$. Currently in the 60s. That jibes with my recollection from 1970. Nominally the ruble was very close to par with the dollar (something 1.1 to 1, in favour of the Ruskies!) but the reality was that, everywhere, people, utter strangers, routinely offered us 10 Rubles to the US dollar. We learned quickly that there was nothing we’d want to buy for rubles. And then we understood why we had been warned that it was against Soviet law to leave the USSR with more money than you came in with. It was quite a trip. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/24 "2019-07-01T19:45:34Z")
Back in the eighties I bought and used a Russian shortwave radio. Loved it. This was in Europe ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/25 "2019-07-01T20:56:15Z")
At least where I live (Germany), anti-virus and cybersecurity suites from Kaspersky, a Russian-based software maker, are quite popular also among private buyers. Third largest player in the market, according to stats I found after a little googling, behind Trend Micro and McAfee, and ahead of Sophos. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/26 "2019-07-01T21:30:38Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > but why flood the US with Soviet transistor radios or Russian razor blades? You say that, but Russian double-edged razor blades are pretty popular among the “wet shaving” set who use double-edged razor blades. There are quite a few brands made in Russia- several Gillette variants, as well as Russian brands like Voshkod, Ladas, etc… which may be made by the same factory as the Gillette ones. Russia is also VERY big in the cheap ammunition market, if you’re a shooting enthusiast. Steel cased Wolf brand ammo has long been some of the very cheapest out there, along with other brands like Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Tula, Barnaul, etc… Basically every Soviet-era ammo plant converted to commercial production and generated their own brands. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/27 "2019-07-01T21:35:20Z")
Doing a bit more digging, it seems that the Russian economy is more centered around raw materials and components, not consumer goods. [http://www.worldstopexports.com/russias-top-10-exports/](http://www.worldstopexports.com/russias-top-10-exports/) (go down a bit and there’s a searchable list of exports) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/28 "2019-07-01T21:36:48Z")
I’m sure this doesn’t doesn’t meet the OP’s criteria since they’re not a consumer product, but it’s worth noting that the Mexican airline Interjet bought Russian planes – the [Sukhoi Superjet 100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Superjet_100). This is noteworthy because it’s the first and as far as I know only time a North American airline has bought Russian planes. Reportedly most of them are now grounded as they’ve turned out to be terribly unreliable, and Sukhoi has proven to have awful customer support (ie. supplying spare parts and getting the planes repaired). Interjet reportedly now intends to replace all of them even though they’re all fairly new because of the dependability issues. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/29 "2019-07-01T21:49:13Z")
Check out the Sherp. I want one bad. [Presentation of SHERP ATV - YouTube](https://youtu.be/KTJUMOzx_zE) ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/30 "2019-07-01T23:15:34Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Check out the Sherp. I want one bad. [https://youtu.be/KTJUMOzx\_zE](https://youtu.be/KTJUMOzx_zE) That is pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/31 "2019-07-01T23:15:40Z")
It probably doesn’t fit the OP as a consumer good but most vacuum tube production takes place in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/32 "2019-07-01T23:47:27Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Check out the Sherp. I want one bad. [https://youtu.be/KTJUMOzx\_zE](https://youtu.be/KTJUMOzx_zE) I remember seeing that thing on Top Gear a year or two ago. Matt Leblanc drove it in a California forest, while supposedly searching for Bigfoot. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/33 "2019-07-02T01:37:28Z")
The russian consumer product factories that haven’t been shifted to China make weapons. eg Kalishnikov Concerns. They are currently USA consumer products, rightly or wrongly. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/34 "2019-07-02T02:04:02Z")
> [@yendis](#): > > Stretching the definition of product a bit but if you’re into combat flight simulators then your only modern options are Russian. The IL2 and DCS series are sims for WW2 aircraft and moderns jets respectively. Not only that, those sims are currently the best sims of that genre out there: they make the others look laughably crude and arcade-ish. It’s as much a consumer product as any, so IMO, it’s not stretching the definition at all. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/35 "2019-07-02T02:29:03Z")
Thanks to **KarlGauss** for a very good post. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/36 "2019-07-02T03:05:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, and from the still camera side, there’s the Lomo, which sprouted up a whole genre of film photography called “Lomography.” Also, I remember Zenits and Zorkis being known among the photo community, but mostly as cheaper knockoffs of German cameras. (Huh. Looking through my camera vault, I apparently have a Lomo … which I don’t ever remember buying. And an old Moskva 6x9). > > But, yeah, they hit more “niche” markets, not widely available and distributed in at least the US. I still have the Lubitel 166 Universal I bought through my photography teacher (he would visit Russia) a few years before the Berlin wall fell. I wasn’t buying it because of it’s umm…unique image quality, I was buying it because it was a 120mm camera that a student could afford. 35mm of all stripes were easy to come by for less than $100, but even a used Yashica was several times that. I haven’t tried to buy any film of any kind for my cameras in several years. (Looks up 120 roll film) Wow, B+W has actually gotten cheaper. May have to grab a few rolls on my next B+H purchase. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > It probably doesn’t fit the OP as a consumer good but most vacuum tube production takes place in Russia. Yep, almost all the tubes I’ve bought in my lifetime were Russian. It’s less niche than film photo equipment, from my perspective. I’ve bought tubes in the last year. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/37 "2019-07-02T04:30:15Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Yep, almost all the tubes I’ve bought in my lifetime were Russian. It’s less niche than film photo equipment, from my perspective. I’ve bought tubes in the last year. Now I’m curious – other than electronics hobbyists who are into retro equipment, and serious guitarists (many of whom prefer tube-driven amplifiers for the “warmth” of their sound), is there a market for old-style vacuum tubes that I’m unaware of? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/38 "2019-07-02T11:33:44Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > It probably doesn’t fit the OP as a consumer good but most vacuum tube production takes place in Russia. Well, I _am_ a consumer. And I own some vacuum tube devices. OTOH, I buy NOS off eBay when I need a replacement. So RCA and GE tubes for me. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/39 "2019-07-02T13:33:30Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Now I’m curious – other than electronics hobbyists who are into retro equipment, and serious guitarists (many of whom prefer tube-driven amplifiers for the “warmth” of their sound), is there a market for old-style vacuum tubes that I’m unaware of? Nope, but I’d wager it’s larger than the group of folks who are purchasing film cameras these days. ETA: And you don’t have to be that serious to buy a tube amp. There’s quite a few sold today that are suitable for your bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323/40 "2019-07-02T14:19:57Z")
I suspect they don’t produce much by way of consumer goods, because they don’t have much practice. Back in the days of the USSR, they had a captive market, because the ruble wasn’t convertible and wasn’t worth much in real terms. Reagan told the story a lot - Back under the USSR a guy wants to buy a car. He goes in, pays his money, fills out all the forms. The clerk behind the counter says, “OK, you will get your car eight years from now.” The guy asks, “In the morning, or the afternoon?” “What difference does that make?” says the clerk. “I got the plumber coming in the morning…” Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-russian-consumer-products/836323.md?page=3)