The Bosch household appliance plant near St. Petersburg, now managed by Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Household Systems, resumed refrigerator production in May 2025. The enterprise has already established the manufacture of over 30 models and delivered an initial batch of 30,000 units to major Russian retailers such as M.Video-Eldorado and DNS.
Plans for 2026 include increasing production to 100,000 units, reaching 220,000 by 2027. Additionally, the company is preparing to launch production lines for washing machines. This sharp diversification of the gas giant’s activities occurs against the backdrop of an unprecedented crisis in its core business—energy extraction and export.
Export model crisis and loss of the European market
By the beginning of 2026, Gazprom’s list of foreign clients had dwindled to just four countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, and China. Pipeline gas export volumes have remained at the minimums of the late 1980s for the third consecutive year. According to BCS estimates, exports in 2025 amounted to only 78 billion cubic meters, nearly three times lower than the peak figures of 2018 (200 billion cubic meters).
Deliveries to Europe have plummeted to levels not seen since the early 1970s, totaling just 18 billion cubic meters last year. Despite record purchases by China via the Power of Siberia pipeline (38.8 billion cubic meters), the eastern direction compensates for only one-fifth of the lost European market.
Analytical summary: Gazprom’s pivot to manufacturing household appliances symbolizes a forced attempt to utilize excess financial and administrative resources amidst the collapse of exports. In 2026, this strategy will fail to compensate for the multi-billion dollar losses in gas revenue but will solidify the trend of nationalizing niches vacated by departing Western brands.