A partnership between Russian Post and Wildberries could provide the latter with much-needed logistical support; however, in practice, such assistance could be viewed as state support. “Svobodnaya Pressa” was told this by Alexey Vedev, Leading Researcher at the Gaidar Institute’s Financial Sector Department.
Wildberries currently finds itself in a difficult situation and, as Alexey Vedev notes, needs additional support. Against this backdrop, utilizing Russian Post’s infrastructure could be one way to stabilize the marketplace’s operations. That said, according to Dr. Vedev, Russian Post itself is not in the best financial position: despite a 9.1% reduction in its net loss in H1 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, the loss still amounted to ₽9.5 bn.
Dr. Vedev noted that a potential merger of the two organizations’ logistics capabilities could have a positive effect. He considers the most rational approach to be the use of Russian Post’s warehouse space and other infrastructure, as well as involving its staff in processing a portion of Wildberries’ orders.
“Support from Russian Post could effectively be considered state aid. At the same time, the company itself is also facing serious financial problems, so this is not simply a commercial partnership but a rather specific collaboration between two large infrastructure organizations. If we succeed in combining their logistics capabilities, it could yield certain positive results. First and foremost, this could involve warehouse space and other infrastructure, and Russian Post employees could take on part of the operations involving Wildberries’ goods. For buyers and sellers, such a solution should, at the very least, not worsen the situation: the extensive network of post offices will improve the accessibility of services and redistribute customer flows,” noted Alexey Vedev.
He added that the collaboration could prove beneficial for sellers and buyers, especially in light of recent issues with merchandise. According to the economist, the scale of the infrastructure—about 38,000 branches nationwide—remains a significant advantage for Russian Post. This allows the existing network to be used to expand the availability of logistics services and potentially redistribute some customer flows between platforms.