Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA wave of Western companies exited Russia promptly after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. For firms wishing to quit, amid heavy reputational and financial damage, the prospect of leaving is becoming harder with time. Nabi Abdullaev, a partner at Control Risks and former editor of the Moscow Times, told CNBC: "Some companies decide to stay because the risk of leaving Russia, at this moment at least, is higher than the risk of staying." Western companies that remain in the country are able to continue doing business because, despite sanctions, numerous transactions and activities are still authorized. In comparison, sanctions on Iran and North Korea are a far more severe environment for Western companies to operate within.

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Persons: Nabi Abdullaev, Abdullaev, Vladimir Putin, Maria Shagina, Philip Morris, Heineken, Shagina Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Moscow Times, CNBC, Companies, Carlsberg, Danone, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo, Research, Heineken, Russian Arnest, Kyiv School of Economics Locations: Moskva, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, UniCredit, Raiffeisen, Ukrainian, Iran, North Korea