The Russian Export Center has turned to online streamers to promote and sell Russian products abroad, reporting explosive consumer demand across international e-commerce platforms.
Mark Murashko, managing director of the product office at the state export agency, announced the strategy at the Platform Economy Day conference, Russian news outlet Lenta.ru reported.
Murashko said that during a recent broadcast at the Eastern Economic Forum, several bloggers generated more than one billion rubles in foreign sales within just a few hours. He noted that the broadcast reached several million potential overseas buyers, with featured items selling out in seconds and leaving some presenters temporarily idle after their inventories were exhausted.
The Eastern Economic Forum is an annual international business event held in the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok, designed to encourage foreign trade and investment ties across the Asia-Pacific region.
Surge in marketplace exports
Export volumes moving through digital platforms have grown by more than twenty times over the past five years, Murashko said. He described the expansion as an extraordinary rate of growth that gives trade officials confidence in drawing larger numbers of domestic firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, into global commerce.
Russian commercial partners and state trade bodies currently operate more than 50 dedicated points of presence on foreign e-commerce marketplaces. Murashko said the export center has observed explosive commercial effects from these digital storefronts, which offer a diverse range of merchandise to varied international audiences.
The agency considers foreign marketplaces an indispensable channel for trade expansion, supporting sellers through the state-backed Made in Russia initiative. The programme serves as a national promotional umbrella, granting certification and marketing assistance to domestic producers seeking recognition in external markets.
Murashko emphasized that digital platforms serve multiple purposes for participating companies, helping them streamline operational tasks while securing access to new consumer groups.
Expansion of live commerce
The Russian Export Center operates as a specialized state development institution dedicated to assisting non-commodity exporters with financial, logistical, and marketing resources. The organization works within the structure of state development corporation VEB.RF to help domestic producers navigate foreign market entry.
Live commerce, which combines real-time video broadcasting with instant online checkout, has become a major retail driver in international markets, particularly across Asia. The format allows hosts to showcase consumer goods, review merchandise, and interact directly with audiences while viewers purchase items immediately through integrated marketplace links.
New legal framework for platforms
The shift toward international streaming channels coincides with a regulatory overhaul of domestic digital commerce. Russia introduced a federal law governing the platform economy on October 1, establishing a unified legal framework for the operation and oversight of online marketplaces for the first time.
The legislation establishes basic legal standards for digital platforms, marketplace operators, and commercial vendors, providing formalized rules of operation as authorities seek to structure the country's rapidly growing digital trade sector.
