– If you want new parts for your car, you have to expect to wait several weeks. Besides, it will be expensive. From 40 to 200 percent more expensive than in 2021. But everything can be obtained. That’s what car mechanic Leonid Gladyshev says. He owns a small car workshop in Murmansk, north-west Russia. The drive to Kirkenes on the Norwegian side of the border is only 3-4 hours. Gladysjev is bent over the engine of a slightly older Mercedes. He does not repair Russian cars. – Soviet cars are not quite in my spirit, he says, forgetting in a flash that they are called “Russian” now. – Foreign brands have a higher technical standard and are more interesting for my own development as a mechanic, says Gladysjev to news. He notices the Western sanctions. But only a little. Leonid Gladyshev gets what he needs. Photo: Juri Linkevitsj / news Motor is difficult Gladysjev points to the motor itself. He says that it is one of the most difficult things to get brand new. But the bottom plate underneath works fine. On a workbench nearby are packages of original spark plugs and sockets. Between two cars is a stack of four Japanese summer tires. A year ago they cost around NOK 7,300, now they cost NOK 10,600. That is a price increase of around 45 per cent. – The most important thing for people who come to me is good quality. It is expensive to crash a good, foreign car because of bad tyres, says Gladysjev. Everyone adapts, says Leonid Gladyshev. Here his colleague works at a workshop in Murmansk. Photo: Juri Linkevitsj / news Imports without consent He buys tires and parts from companies that specialize in imports via third countries. After companies in the West, South Korea and Japan introduced sanctions, Russia has introduced laws and regulations that allow imports without the manufacturer’s consent. This is called “parallel import”. Entire cars can also be imported that way. Never before has Georgia bought so many German cars, and never has Georgia exported so many cars to Russia. Therefore, it is still possible to get a brand new Mercedes in Russia, even though the EU has banned the export of cars that cost more than 50,000 euros, around NOK 590,000. Screenshot from Russian website. The same system applies to white goods, mobile phones and luxury goods that cost more than 300 euros. Kazakhstan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Turkey and the Baltics also serve as bridgeheads for such imports. But it also means that the usual warranty does not apply. That is why the insurance industry in Russia is growing. The customers are asked by the retailers to insure themselves against all errors, even on new goods. The sanctions are to punish Punitive measures against Russia were seriously tightened from the Western side when the Russians launched the brutal war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Western countries had warned for months that this would be the result if Russia carried out what they threatened. The sanctions have been introduced against Russian companies, institutions and individuals. Also against political and military leaders. As the war has progressed, the punitive measures have been steadily expanded. Trade between Russia and Western countries has been significantly reduced, particularly when it comes to oil, gas and other minerals. The purpose has been to prevent the Russian authorities from receiving large sums of money to continue the war against Ukraine. But it is being debated whether the sanctions have been strong enough, and whether they are too easy to circumvent. Western countries are using a number of instruments to hit Russia economically after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine The Chinese are taking over A spokesman for the National Automobile Federation in Russia believes China’s share of new car sales could reach 60 percent this year. In the first half of 2022, the share of Chinese new cars was 3.7 percent. Now it has already increased tenfold. Chinese cars are available in several price ranges. At a car dealer in Murmansk, news’s emissaries came across a nice SUV from the brand Exceed. Leather seats, top electronics and four-wheel drive. Price tag: NOK 753,000. A new and popular Chinese car without sanctions from the West. Other brands are Geely, Omoda, Chery and Haval. Several of them have new cars for under NOK 250,000. The advantage of these is that they come with a guarantee and without penalties for spare parts. Moskvich or Chinese Jac? Most of all, the Russian authorities want people to start asking for Russian cars. According to Autonews, the best-selling new car in 2022 was the Russian Lada Granta. It comes both as a sedan and station wagon. Last December, the Moskvich factory in Moscow launched a brand new, rather small SUV. But it turns out that this “Russian” car is almost identical to the Chinese Jac JS4. The Jac car is also sold on the Norwegian market. Director Dmitrij Pronin could state that they plan to sell 50,000 such Moskvits this year, and that every fifth will be electric. A new Russian Moskovitch. Car for 40,000 Many Russians cannot afford a new car of any kind. There is a large used market for them. Traders at the outdoor market down by the fjord in Murmansk complain that the internet is taking over as a marketplace. Of course, it has nothing to do with the war. A well-grown lady at the outdoor market chose a 17-year-old Chevrolet for NOK 40,000. Maja has just received her certificate and simply likes the look. Like many Russians, this lady wants to buy an old car. Photo: Gro Holm / news But Maja cannot count on getting original parts for the American car. It’s going well, according to Leonid Gladyshev at the workshop in the same city. – In the West, they throw away worn parts and buy new ones. We take things apart and repair, if necessary. We replace worn parts with slightly less worn parts. Then he becomes philosophical about the Russians’ relationship with sanctions. – You have to understand that people get used to everything. Push, don’t pressure. Man is a creature that constantly adapts, adapts, adapts.
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– Everything can be obtained – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
