Gifts / Sports & Toys

Belarusian company Polesie, in the city of Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region, has opened its doors after Danish toy maker Lego pulled out of Russia, Governor Alexander Ruskikh said. The factory began to "blitz" the production of children's building block toys.

The representative's words reported that "in light of sanctions and the unpredictable situation," Lego has suspended all supplies of toys to Russian stores. In doing so, Lego is closing the door on one of its biggest consumer markets. Inventive Retail Group, which manages retail stores for Nike, Street Beat, re:Store, Lego and numerous other brands, told Sputnik that Lego had released its contract with Russian distributor Mir-kubikov.

Ruskikh posted on Telegram: "Lego sanctioned our children? Polesie DG has made a big hello to an old friend by making a surprise production of children's toys in Dimitrovgrad...I think, we Joint efforts should continue to promote our children's products on the Russian market. The successful production of Polesie in the Master Industrial Park in Dimitrovgrad is another good direction for the development of cooperation between Ulyanovsk Oblast and Belarus."

He pointed out that the recent participation of the regional delegation and Polesie DG at the Innoprom industry exhibition and the signing of the contract on site "proved once again that there is a high demand for products from customers".

Ruskich also posted a video showing Polesie's building block production process and finished product warehouse.

Polesie is one of the largest manufacturers of plastic toys and daily necessities in Europe, with 3,000 employees, and its products are exported to more than 60 countries around the world.