While many Western companies leave Russia, the German network Globe opens new stores in the country, and its owners call Berlin to make peace with the Kremlin. How does a Globus business work? Why did the company invite Putin’s friend to work?
There are quite a few western companies left in Russia. The Germans alone, according to the Leave Russia project of the Kiev School of Economics, number more than two thousand. But almost everyone tries to conduct business quietly, without attracting attention either in Russia or at home. If they are asked directly about it, they condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine. With the Globus hypermarket chain and its main owner, the German billionaire Thomas Baruch, everything is a little different. The company, even during the years of the Great War, continued to open new stores in Russia. And Baruch is supposed to call Berlin for a dialogue with Moscow and participate in the forums organized by the Kremlin. Medusa tells the story of Globus and its Russian business.