Retail investors in Russia are powering an IPO hot streak that's drawing vodka makers and pawnshops to go public

• Russia's stock market is seeing a streak of IPOs.
• The Moscow Exchange saw half a dozen firms go public this year, Bloomberg data shows.
• But experts say Russian stocks are putting up a facade of strength as its economy faces a grim future.

The Russian IPO market is seeing a streak of firms go public, with vodka makers to gold miners to pawnshop operators selling shares for the first time. 

Bloomberg data shows around half a dozen Russian companies went public this year, collectively selling shares worth 12.4 billion rubles, or $130 million. It's a big jump in IPO activity compared to 2022, when just one Russian firm went public.