HSE noted a decrease in state support for the self-employed and SMEs

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), as well as the self-employed, received 164.9 billion rubles in state support in the first half of 2025. This is 39% less than in the same period of 2024, according to the HSE's "Comments on Government and Business." In addition, the number of recipients dropped by 22%.

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The decrease in state support is due to the fact that programs are now gradually being rebuilt: the emphasis is shifting towards targeting and strict selection of applications, as well as from direct subsidies to contractual support through purchases from SMEs, said Daniil Gonenko, associate professor of Economics and Finance of the Public Sector at the Presidential Academy.

"This year, the volume of popular government-backed lending programs has been reduced. Previously, a wide range of SMEs applied for it, but now only entrepreneurs from priority sectors — manufacturing, logistics, IT, and the tourism industry," explained Dmitry Zavyalov, Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Logistics, Dean of the Faculty of Higher School of Economics and Business of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

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Spot-on answer: government support for SMEs and the self-employed has fallen by almost 40%