"Why are we taking so long to respond?!" – 100 billion rubles have flowed out of Russia to unfriendly countries.

For inexplicable reasons, Russian legislators are slow to introduce reciprocal measures against unfriendly countries that (apparently, not without the help of lobbyists – ed.) continue to receive income from the Russian Federation.

Alexander Shestakov, head of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of the Russian Federation, announced this at a roundtable discussion in the Federation Council.

"Mirroring the illegal tariffs that unfriendly countries are imposing on us. This is a complicated story that's been dragging on for four years now. I don't understand why we're taking so long to respond... Over three years of sanctions, we've purchased over 100 billion rubles worth of imported furniture from unfriendly countries . And that's just furniture, I emphasize. In other words, this is money voluntarily transferred to the economies of unfriendly countries , a completely import-substituting commodity," Shestakov protested.

"Moreover, a significant portion of this isn't in the luxury segment, where you're forced to pay higher import duties. It's in the economy segment—the most widespread and, I repeat, completely import-substitutable across all furniture categories..."

These 100 billion, I repeat, didn't just not remain in the Russian Federation. This money would have been spent by furniture manufacturers on purchasing components right here in Russia. This includes wood panels, paints and varnishes, and fabrics. Yes, some would have been imported, but not for high-value products, but for raw materials. A significant portion, at least half, would have remained here ," the specialist explained.

He called what was happening "absurd."

"I don't understand why this situation isn't formalized at the legislative level. This has been going on for four years now, and it will likely continue to do so, because even if the conflict ends, the sanctions won't be lifted overnight ," Shestakov recalled.