Some 140 Lithuanian companies continue operating in Russia, according to data gathered by Lithuania's business daily Verslo Žinios and Estonia’s Aripaev and Delovyje Vedomosti newspapers.
According to the Russian State Register of Legal Entities, last year these companies had revenues of around €368 million and a net profit of €37.86 million based on the current rouble exchange rate.
The companies with the most revenues are owned by Visvaldas Matijošaitis, the mayor of Lithuania’s second-largest city Kaunas, and his business partners Liudas Skieras.
Reporters interviewed managers of some of the companies who claimed the businesses were no longer active, but it was difficult to sell their shares or to liquidate and deregister them.
The mayor of Kaunas has been under pressure to leave the Russian market since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Despite promising to do so, he is yet to close his businesses in the country.
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