Foreign manufacturers, who buy most of the television advertising, are deeply interested in what Russian consumers want.

Now that's an investment that both Russian and American consumers might be interested in.

Indeed, financial protection for Russian consumers is still woefully inadequate.

Russian consumers have been driving the country's fast growth in recent years and demand has increased after a low point last September.

"Without chimney stacks, Russian consumers and residents don't get excited about the bad stuff in the air."

You have to put yourself in the shoes of the Russian consumer.

But in some ways, approaching the Russian consumer has been easier than many companies expected.

Pepsi had been around for so long that many Russian consumers saw it as a local beverage.

And he said that they were not the Russian rich, but average consumers.

That means Russian consumers could have more to spend.