The two latest folding smartphone models from global leader Samsung, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Fold5, are now available for sale in Russia, having shown up online over the last week, and full two weeks before the worldwide launch, which Samsung scheduled for August 11th.

The devices are not being officially supplied to Russia due to sanctions, however the TASS news agency spotted the models for sale in the online store of the largest mobile network operator in Russia, MTS, available for immediate delivery.

The models were priced at 110,000 rubles ($1,195) for the Z Flip 5 smartphone, and 190,000 rubles ($2,064) for the Fold 5.

In the meantime, M.Video and Eldorado, two major electronics retailers in Russia, as well as Russian telecoms operator Megafon, invited their customers to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold5 smartphones.

It is not the first time Russia has given its citizens access to the latest technology before the rest of the world. In February of 2023, the Samsung S23 smartphone line showed up for sale in Russia fully 11 days before the official launch of global sales.

Officially, in March of 2022, as the West began imposing sanctions on Moscow over the military action in Ukraine, Samsung suspended all shipments to Russia of its entire line of products. The electronics giant had dominated the Russian market with a share of 34%, however the company cited “current geopolitical developments” as the reason for the pullout.

In response, last year Moscow authorized what it called “parallel imports,” for a wide range of consumer goods, which allows retailers and wholesalers to acquire goods in neighboring countries, for resale in Russia. As a result, the Russian consumer market has a continuous supply of items which are not allowed to be shipped there, such as Apple and Samsung phones, as well as others.