Are Russian shops empty in 2026?
“Shop shelves in Russia are empty.”
No. Shelves are full; what changed is which brands are on them, as departing Western labels were replaced by Russian, Turkish, Chinese and rebranded successors.
The numbers · Checked September 2026
Rebranded chains
Departing Western retail and fast food was bought out and relaunched under Russian names, keeping the same outlets
Reuters, business coverageParallel imports
Legalised in 2022, allowing goods to enter through third countries without the brand owner's consent
Russian governmentRetail turnover
Rosstat publishes monthly retail trade volumes — the series to check rather than a photograph
Rosstat
Where the impression comes from
Late-Soviet photographs of queues and bare shelves are the strongest visual anyone has of Russian retail, and they get reused whenever the economy is discussed. They are pictures from a different country.
What this actually means for you
A visitor's shopping list is met without difficulty. Supermarkets are large, well stocked and cheap by Western standards, delivery arrives in fifteen minutes in Moscow, and the produce and dairy are genuinely good.
The gaps are specific rather than general: a particular medication, a particular cosmetics line, some electronics at inflated prices. If you depend on a named prescription drug, bring it and its paperwork.
- •Groceries: cheap, plentiful, strong on dairy, bread and produce.
- •Electronics: available through parallel imports, at a markup.
- •Specific medicines: the one category worth planning around.
What actually changed
The brand landscape. A coffee chain has a different name and the same shop layout; a fast-food logo changed and the queue did not. For a Russian consumer, that is a story about choice and price. It is not a story about scarcity.
What is true in the claim
Specific imported items are harder to find or cost noticeably more, and some medicines and niche electronics are a genuine problem for the people who need them.
Common questions
Can you buy normal food in Russia in 2026?
Yes. Supermarkets are well stocked and cheap by Western European standards, and fifteen-minute grocery delivery is standard in the big cities.
Did Western brands leave Russia?
Many did, and most of their outlets were bought and relaunched under Russian names, so the shops stayed open with different logos.
Should I bring my medication to Russia?
If it is a specific prescription drug, yes, with its prescription. Some imported medicines are the genuine gap in an otherwise full market.
