Achivka LLC, a Russian legal entity which formally shares office and the management with Nintendo’s dormant local branch, is importing video games to the country shunned by international businesses following its invasion of Ukraine.
As reported by Russian business newspaper Kommersant, copies of Metroid Prime Remastered bearing Achivka’s stick-on label are finding their way to local retailers. According to the register of EAC declarations of conformity, Achivka has also formally declared Nintendo Switch consoles as fit for sale in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which Russia is an integral part of.
In 2022, as many companies halted shipments to Russia and sales there, the country’s lawmakers made it legal for anyone to import consumer and industrial goods without a rightsholder’s approval. Achivka (which translates to “Achievement,” as in video game rewards) has more ties to Nintendo than any third-party reseller.
According to the Russian register of companies, it’s led and partially owned by Nintendo Russia CEO Yasha Haddaji who, after a probe following reports of workplace harassment, continues to hold his office to this day. Nintendo Russia corporate event manager Ksenia Kachalova has also got a minority stake at Achivka, and its legal address is the same as the one of Nintendo’s Russian branch. Kommersant says Achivka and Nintendo’s local and European offices did not return calls for comment.
Getting its Russian operations sold or transferred to a local management is an option which many international companies, from Electrolux and Shneider Electric to Leroy Merlin, are choosing to minimize their exposure to Russia. Nintendo, while going as far as shutting down the Nintendo eShop in the country, has said nothing of that regard.
In July, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa glossed over a question on the future of the company’s presence in Russia, only noting that halting operations there had a “negligible effect” on Nintendo’s global financial results.
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