Market Research Companies in Moscow

Key figures for researchers

Population

13.27 million (1 January 2025, Mosstat)¹

2021 census

13,010,112 residents (1 October 2021)²

Administrative units

12 administrative okrugs, 125 districts and 21 settlements (2023)³

Largest okrugs

Southern 1.78 million, Eastern 1.51 million, South-Eastern 1.51 million; Central 0.77 million (1 January 2023)³

New Moscow

Novomoskovsky 528,600 and Troitsky 191,900 residents (1 January 2023)³

Density

5,115.8 people per km² (1 January 2023)³

Older residents

13% aged 70+; 27% above working age (1 January 2023)³

Moscow Region

8.5 million people around the city (October 2021)⁵

Labour market

unemployment 2.2%; average monthly wage RUB 125,638 (2022)³

Businesses

17.8% of all organisations in Russia’s business register (end of 2022)³

Research guide

Research landscape

Moscow is the main business centre of Russia and the base of most national research projects: full-service agencies, qualitative specialists, B2B and healthcare firms, online panel providers and field suppliers. At the end of 2022, 17.8% of all organisations in Russia’s business register were in Moscow, which also makes the city the main location for B2B and executive interviews.

Who you will interview

Moscow had 13,010,112 residents at the 2021 census and about 13.27 million on 1 January 2025. The population is older than many clients expect: on 1 January 2023, 13% of residents were aged 70 and over and 27% were above working age. Online samples tend to under-represent the oldest residents, so set age quotas on Moscow figures and consider telephone or face-to-face interviews for them.

Russian is the fieldwork language for almost all studies. Moscow also attracts people from other regions and countries; if migrants or a specific community matter, ask the agency whether it can recruit them and whether a second language version is needed.

Fieldwork in practice

The city covers 2,561 km² and is divided into 12 administrative okrugs, 125 districts and 21 settlements. Population varies a lot by okrug: the Southern okrug had 1.78 million residents on 1 January 2023, against 0.77 million in the Central okrug, while the newer Novomoskovsky and Troitsky okrugs to the south-west had 528,600 and 191,900. Sampling by okrug, or by district within okrugs, helps spread interviews across the city.

Moscow is dense (5,115.8 people per km² in 2023) and most residents live in apartment blocks with intercoms, coded doors and sometimes a concierge. Door-to-door interviewing therefore needs more contact attempts and time. Online panels are the usual method for consumer surveys, with street intercepts, central location tests and telephone interviews for other targets. Studies of the wider metropolitan area may add the Moscow Region (8.5 million people in 2021), which is a separate region with its own statistics.

Focus groups and qualitative research

In-person focus groups are usually held in viewing facilities with a one-way mirror and video streaming, mostly in central Moscow. Distances are long, so allow travel time when scheduling evening groups and choose a venue close to a metro station.

Ask the agency for its incentive levels and recruitment lead times; B2B and senior respondents often prefer online or in-office interviews. Online communities and video interviews are widely used, alone or alongside in-person groups.

Timing

Avoid the New Year holidays: for 2027, the approved schedule gives non-working days from 31 December 2026 to 10 January 2027. Plan around the other breaks too: 21–23 February, 6–8 March, 1–3 May and 8–10 May, 12–14 June and 4–7 November 2027. Business respondents are hard to reach around these dates, and response rates fall.

Working with a Moscow agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, okrugs or districts, method, languages and deadline.
• EU-based clients: check EU sanctions first (Article 5n of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 covers market research services to entities established in Russia); see the Russia guide.
• For face-to-face or recruitment, ask how the agency reaches residents of apartment blocks and older people.
• For focus groups, ask for the facility address, nearest metro station, viewing room capacity, streaming options and incentive levels.
• Check that personal data is stored in Russia under Federal Law No. 152-FZ, and agree what anonymised data you will receive.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 Moscow companies from this page.

National rules (data protection, holidays, sampling across regions) are covered in our guide to market research in Russian Federation.