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One-Third of Russian Entrepreneurs Ready to Quit as Economy Keeps Getting Worse
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About one-third of entrepreneurs in Russia are considering closing or selling their businesses amid deteriorating economic sentiment, Meduza reported on March 10.
Meduza, citing research by the Public Opinion Foundation and Russia’s Higher School of Economics, published by Vedomosti, reported that 31% of business owners were considering shutting down or selling their companies.
That was eight percentage points higher than in the first quarter of 2025.
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The report indicated that 52% of Russian entrepreneurs expected business conditions to worsen in the first three months of 2026.
Meduza noted this was higher than in early 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when 38% held the same view.
Only 12% expected conditions to improve, the report added.
The survey has been conducted since 2021 and follows more than 700 individual entrepreneurs and small business owners.
It found that 39% described their businesses as being in survival mode by the end of 2025.
Another 39% reported lower income in the fourth quarter than in the previous period, while 29% reported that revenue did not cover direct costs, and 42% recorded weaker demand.
Alexander Kalinin, head of the Opora Russia business association, told Vedomosti that no positive trends had emerged and that many companies were postponing investment.
He pointed to rising fiscal pressure, a high key interest rate, rising non-payments from counterparties, and falling demand.
At the same time, Russia’s economy contracted in January, with GDP down 2.1% year on year, as weak consumer demand and high interest rates squeezed civilian industries even while military production remained a key driver.
Sectors tied to household spending and construction showed the sharpest strain, highlighting how uneven, war-linked growth is masking broader softness across Russia’s non-military economy.
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