In 2025, the number of new companies in Russia dropped sharply: only 173,000 legal entities were registered during the year, which is 20% less than the year before. This is the lowest figure in the past 14 years, according to data from the audit and consulting network FinExpertiza cited by Izvestia. The number of new companies declined in 60 regions, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Sverdlovsk region.
At the same time, the number of liquidated companies rose by 15% to 233,000. As a result, closures exceeded openings by 26%. Most companies (88%) were removed from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities by decision of the tax authorities, FinExpertiza noted. More than half of them — 110,000 — showed signs of being shell companies, such as mass registration addresses, nominal directors, and formal transactions. The remaining closures resulted from liquidation initiated by owners and from inactive firms that failed to submit reports and conduct transactions through their accounts. Thirteen percent of closures occurred under simplified procedures — companies were struck off the register due to insufficient funds for full bankruptcy.
The decline in the number of new companies in 2025 is linked to rising costs, expensive loans, and stricter requirements for financial and tax discipline, said Sergey Katyrin, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia. Entrepreneurs are now focusing on developing and maintaining existing projects rather than launching new ones, added Andrei Shubin, executive director of Opora Russia. According to him, caution has increased amid weak economic growth, uncertainty, and sanctions pressure.
Another problem is the growth of non-payments in the economy: delays by customers hit contractors, especially those working with government contracts and large corporations, said Dmitry Panov, coordinator of Delovaya Rossiya for the Northwestern Federal District. The situation is also affected by tax changes and the shift of many companies to paying VAT in 2025, noted Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of BMT Consult. In addition, she said, entering some niches has become more difficult due to high competition, low profitability, and regulatory restrictions. The problem of labor shortages amid the demographic slump has not gone away either, the expert added.
In 2026, the trend of a decline in the number of legal entities will continue, Katyrin believes. At present, businesses in the regions are struggling to adapt to the new rules: the reduction of the turnover threshold under the simplified tax system from 60 million to 20 million rubles, said Shubin from Opora Russia. Entrepreneurs will also be constrained by tight monetary policy, banks’ caution in lending to small companies, and increased tax control, predicted Yaroslav Kabakov, director of strategy at Finam Investment Company.
At the same time, small and medium-sized businesses continue to grow thanks to individual entrepreneurs. Last year, almost 1.3 million new participants entered the SME sector (including sole proprietors), and by January 2026 the total number of small business entities in the country approached 7 million, said Alexander Isaevich, CEO of the SME Corporation. According to him, the decline in the number of legal entities is being offset by the growing share of sole proprietors: while ten years ago the ratio was 50/50, today it is 32/68 in favor of individual entrepreneurs, due to easier business registration and operation.
