When the men who are sent to Russia by consumer goods companies headquartered in the US and Europe are asked about the political risks of working in the country, they smile and request that their comments be kept off the record.

It is not that they have horror stories of government or official interference: the people who sell toothpaste and chocolate do not threaten Russia's control over its natural resources in the same way as those who sell oil and gas. And the authorities have not interfered in any of the foreign acquisitions of Russian consumer goods companies that have taken place in the past 18 months.

"Russia needs business," points out Tony Maher, the Irishman who was hired from Coca-Cola two years ago to run Russia's biggest food company, Wimm-Bill-Dann.