Is Putin Reshaping The Russian Brand?

Sign outside Lithuanian airport positioned for passengers to see flying in and out

Tchaikovsky. Chekhov. Dostoevsky. Rudolph Nureyev. These have been the cultural faces of Russia for decades. But since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the soft culture of Russia has been recast by the hard face of Putin.

“If Russia is considered a brand or trademark, then Putin has done enormous damage to the goodwill of the brand,” says trademark attorney Gene Winter of St. Onge Steward Johnston & Reens in Stamford, Connecticut. Thanks to Putin’s war, adds Winter, “The Russia brand suddenly has become synonymous and interchangeable with Putin.”

I visited Moscow between 2007–2010, when Western capitalists were scrambling to make connections inside the former Communist bloc. At that time, Putin was recasting Russia from a bloc of broken Communist countries to — if not capitalism, then an energetic new form of enterprise. Deals were being made. Range Rovers and Audis were covered in mud due to the surge of Moscow construction. People were smuggling iPhones, pimping Louis Vuitton bags in the new Four Seasons lobby and eating sushi at sense-surround restaurants pulsing in the Moscow night. The Russian people were friendly, compassionate and intelligent, and in meetings with legendary brands they seemed eager to cast themselves in the new future.