Page 150 - RusRPTJul22

Mercury), but the company itself does not comment on this.
Wildberries and Lamoda did not discuss the situation with the supply of goods bypassing the copyright holders. The source of the newspaper says that Wildberries is counting on the supply of sellers, and will import only if there is a shortage of any goods.
Parallel imports through “civilized” channels will help avoid an explosion of counterfeit products, but will lead to an increase in delivery costs by 5–50%, an increase in transit times and a decrease in the assortment, since the most popular brands will be imported first. According to One Story partner Olga Sumishevskaya, household appliances and electronics, cosmetics, perfumery and clothing will be imported through parallel imports: “The share of goods produced in Russia in these categories varies from 10% to 30%.
In early May, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved a list of goods for parallel imports. The order included a little more than 50 groups of goods: from clothing and footwear to nuclear reactors. The CSR estimated its annual volume at $100-120 billion a year, or half of Russian imports.
The main problem with parallel imports is not even that some gadget cannot be bought, but in the guarantee, support and maintenance of products imported bypassing brands. Not to mention Russia's loss of the status of a priority market: new products will reach it with a delay, as in the early 2000s. In addition, the risks of both sellers and buyers will increase, as the recent story with the problematic activation of Samsung smartphones has shown.
Lobbying for a stronger SORM: Russia’s Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media Ministry has proposed reforms that would fine telecoms operators a percentage of their gross income for failing to install the hardware required to operate the System for Operative Investigative Activities (SORM) — wiretapping equipment that allows law enforcement officials to monitor telephone conversations, text messages, and Internet traffic. The ministry also wants to require the Federal Protective Service’s approval before issuing new telecoms operating licences (making SORM installation necessary to receive a licenses). Additionally, the fee for obtaining one of these licences would jump 133 times to 1 million rubles (almost $17,000), ostensibly to lock out “dubious services.”
Precious bodily fluids: State Duma lawmakers have drafted legislation that would expand existing mass media limits on foreign ownership to online classifieds portals, limiting foreign stakes to 20 percent. The bill’s
150 RUSSIA Country Report October 2020 www.intellinews.com