Kukkoyev had built an entire business renovating high-end end apartments in St. Petersburg with Ikea fittings. He spent that final day sweating and trying to get in all his orders, hitting the payment button for the last time at two minutes to midnight, he recalled.
Then he applied to register the trademark Idea, copying Ikea’s trademark logo.
Kukkoyev’s struggles are one man’s woes in a sea of troubles as Russia faces not just international sanctions but the impact of Western businesses shunning the country. Thousands of small and medium businesses — including restaurants, bars, beauty salons, consultancies, transportation, logistics companies and others — face similar problems.
As real wages plummet, consumption falls, inflation escalates and supply chain problems choke the economy, the crisis is devastating private businesses.
“[My clients and I] are now like hostages of this situation. I believe that Ikea treated people like cattle,” said Kukkoyev, owner of Luksort-Service. “I think it was very inhumane. Now, so many people, thousands and thousands of people, are in a very difficult situation.”
Until last month, he had been Ikea’s biggest fan. He said he had admired the company’s business approach and loved its user-friendly manuals, on which he relied heavily.
“I’m not upset at the West. The only thing that made me really upset and angry was Ikea, because I really like this business,” he said.