Andreas Ronken, managing director of German chocolate giant Ritter Sport, said he had received death threats for continuing to supply candy to Moscow, but he remained in Russia.
Several Western companies have severed ties with Russia after Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022. The companies that stayed were pressured by Ukrainian politicians and activists, urging them to stop doing business and in some countries, in some cases, threatening to boycott.
In an interview with German news magazine Focus on May 30, Andreas Ronken said that his life was in danger, but refused to provide further details.
Our decision to continue producing and selling chocolate in Russia is a correct one and I will not change the decision, he told Focus magazine.
Russia is our second largest market. If we leave, we will have to fire 200 employees at the Waldenbuch facility, he explained, referring to the plant in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
At the same time, Ritter Sport has donated nearly 1 million euros ($1.08 million) from the money earned in Russia in 2023 to support Ukraine.
We certainly cant stand outside of everything politically anymore, Ronken told Focus.
Earlier this year, the Ukrainian activist group Vitsche called on two German supermarket chains to boycott Milka chocolate because the company continues to do business in Russia. Parent company Mondelez - a Swiss brand owner - was blacklisted by Ukraine last year, in an effort to pressure the US food giant to cut off relations with Moscow.
Despite international pressure to leave, more than half of the Western companies that initially announced plans to eventually withdraw have remained in Russia, the Financial Times reported. Russia's strong economic growth is seen as a factor that has prompted Western companies to decide to stick with it.
According to the national statistics agency Rosstat, Russia's GDP increased by 5.4% in the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund forecasts that the Russian economy will grow by 3.2% in 2024, exceeding the expected growth rate of the US (2.7%), UK (0.5%), Germany (0.2%) and France (0.7%).
Real wages in Russia also rose nearly 8% last year - the biggest increase in five years, Rosstat said.
Speaking at a government meeting this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that international sanctions have failed to deter the Russian economy and have effectively achieved results contrary to what the West expects.
