Wildberries seller with 1.3 million Instagram followers appeals to Russian authorities for help after Ukrainian strikes

A prominent cosmetics seller in Russia is urging the government to help salvage small businesses hit by recent damage to Wildberries warehouses. Marina Gorshkova, whose beauty brand has one point three million Instagram followers, recorded a video appeal after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted the e-commerce marketplace's logistics centers. Per Meduza, Gorshkova said she paid forty-five million rubles in taxes over the past year and a half — revenue she argues will disappear if sellers like her are forced to close. Rather than direct compensation, she's proposing a year-long tax exemption for affected merchants and a loan payment holiday from banks to give businesses time to recover. Gorshkova also flagged that she's been unable to retrieve her own inventory from the warehouse, and warned of broader fallout: lost tax revenue for the state, unemployment, and wider economic cascades. Her video drew ten thousand likes within a day as the strikes on Wildberries facilities continue.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton