Intel, AMD Chips Are Still Entering Russia Thanks To Sanction Workarounds

Despite a report by the Russian publication, Kommersant, that Intel and AMD chips have practically evaporated from the country’s market, Russian executives working within the tech manufacturing sector are telling a different story.

Russian assemblers such as Lotos Group and Rikor had told Kommersant that processor deliveries from Intel and AMD are not only continuing but are also increasing. This is despite the publication’s report stating that CPU imports from the blue team seemingly fell 95%, while shipments from the red chipmaker dropped by 81% in 2024. That number, by the way, is 37,000 CPUs in total, down from 537,000 units in 2023.

The reason Russian companies are still able to receive and import Intel and AMD CPUs into their home country is largely due to workarounds to the US sanctions. For example, Malaysia recently came under the spotlight after it was discovered that chip smugglers had used our country as a hub to ship out NVIDIA AI chips. It’s a claim that our government has denied and while Russia wasn’t a destination country for the smugglers – they were eventually caught by the Singaporean government – it highlights the difficulties faced by the parties trying to enforce sanctions.

For that matter, Intel and AMD processors don’t even enter Russia with a label that indicates the nature of the packages. One Russian tech executive said that the word “processor” often doesn’t appear on delivery sheets. Having said that, suppliers are also warning Russian buyers to expect between a 10% and 12% increase in CPU prices, the reasons being inflation, as well as the ongoing tensions between the US and China.

(Source: Kommersant, Techspot)