‘The return of banditry’: Russian car industry buckles under sanctions

Prices have spiralled out control since invasion of Ukraine as market struggles to adapt

Eldar Gadzhiev's heart sank when he heard the sputtering from the engine of his Skoda one day in April. Gadzhiev, who owns a fleet of four cars that he leases as taxicabs in Moscow, knew it was a terrible and expensive time for a breakdown.

Prices for spare parts, if you even could find them, had spiralled out of control since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine two months earlier. I understood that I was in a bad situation," he said. I thought: the repairs are going to cost as much as the car."