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The benefits of fossils: more companies have opened in only one industry than have closed
In Russia, in January-September, almost twice as many companies closed as they opened. There are 208,000 liquidated enterprises during this period, and the trend has accelerated compared to last year. In 2026, only in one industry did the number of new participants exceed the number of abolished ones. This is mining. In 2025, the list also included healthcare and social services, culture and sports. It is becoming more difficult for businesses to operate due to the long-term persistence of a high key rate. In addition, the authorities have tightened inspections in order to whitewash the economy. What measures will help enterprises stay on the market is in the Izvestia article.
Which industries are shutting down the most companies
In January–September 2026, almost 109 thousand new enterprises were registered in the country — almost half as many as were officially liquidated during the same period (208.5 thousand), according to the Rosstat report "Socio-economic situation of Russia" (Izvestia analyzed it). In September, 11.7 thousand organizations entered the market, while 21.7 thousand stopped working.
The trend has increased compared to last year. For comparison, during the same period of 2025, about 140.5 thousand companies were opened in the Russian Federation, and 206 thousand were closed.
According to Ivan Efremenkov, Deputy Executive Director of Opora Russia, there has been a decrease in business activity this year: the monthly number of company registrations is on average 30% lower than in the same period last year.
As a result, according to Rosstat, in January-September 2026, more enterprises were opened in only one sector of the economy than were closed - in mining. 786 organizations were registered there, and 776 were liquidated.
This is due, among other things, to the fact that the financial situation of a part of the mining sector has improved, said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Global. The net profit of the industry in the first half of the year increased almost 1.5 times, to 2.9 trillion (we are talking about the difference between profits and losses for a certain period).
A year earlier, there were three industries with more registrations than closures. In addition to the extractive sector, growth was observed in healthcare and social services (3,156 new companies versus 2,351 closed ones), as well as in culture, sports, leisure and entertainment, which fall into the same category (3,060 versus 2,861).
At the same time, in a number of areas, the number of closed enterprises more than doubled the number of new ones. Thus, 14.3 thousand organizations appeared in construction, and almost 29 thousand ceased operations. 31.6 thousand companies opened in wholesale and retail trade, and almost 68.5 thousand left.
As the Federal Tax Service told Izvestia, the service regularly checks the accuracy of information in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The Agency administratively excludes from the register so-called abandoned companies, organizations with false information, having signs of fictitiousness, as well as legal entities with a high risk of conducting suspicious banking transactions. The press service clarified: at the same time, in some cases, restrictions on the creation of new legal entities apply to former founders and managers of such companies.
Why are companies closing down more often?
The predominance of closures over openings is largely due to the rising cost of doing business, said Marina Krasnova, financier and managing partner of the Union Group. At the same time, entrepreneurs face rising costs for labor, rent, logistics, and the purchase of raw materials. Opportunities to shift additional costs to customers are limited by demand and competition. As a result, profits are declining, and financial reserves are gradually decreasing, the expert added.
An additional pressure factor remains the high cost of lending. At the last meeting, the Bank of Russia kept its key rate at 14% per annum for the second time in a row. At the same time, the regulator is unlikely to reduce it by the end of 2026. As Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Izvestia at the WEF, the compromise rate for business is 10-12%.
A large key rate affects companies with a delay of six months to three quarters, said Yuri Azargaev, Director of work with institutional clients at Alfa Capital Management Company. Soon, the financial reserves accumulated by organizations over the past couple of years may be exhausted. It is especially difficult for businesses that have secured loans at floating rates (most often they depend on the key rate) and those who have decided to take out a new loan with higher interest rates in order to repay the old one.
Another factor is the increased tax burden. In 2025, the income tax reached 25%, and since 2026, the VAT rate has increased from 20% to 22%. In addition, starting this year, the income threshold for taxpayers under the simplified taxation system (USN) has also been lowered from 60 million rubles to 20 million. This has complicated the situation for many small companies.
Business is also affected by the government's efforts to whitewash the economy. In the draft budget for the next three years, annual revenues from these measures are planned at 500 billion rubles. As Izvestia wrote, in the first half of 2026, fees based on the results of tax control of the largest companies increased 4.4 times, to 91 billion rubles. The number of on-site inspections of such organizations increased by 83%. In general, revenues for all enterprises increased 1.5 times due to increased control, to 326 billion rubles.
Vladimir Chernov believes that small construction contractors, catering companies and trucking companies are currently experiencing the greatest difficulties in maintaining their business. In these areas, losses have to be incurred regularly, while the margin of financial strength is often small.
In addition, a difficult situation is developing in wholesale and retail trade, Yuri Azargaev emphasized. Small distributors are feeling particularly strong pressure, as marketplace commissions are rising and inventory levels are getting more expensive. Additional difficulties are caused by delays in cross-border payments and cargo losses during delivery.
How to help businesses in 2026
Significant changes in the number of business registrations and liquidations should not be expected in the near future, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. The situation will start to stabilize only next year. However, the number of closures will still slightly exceed the number of openings, according to Dmitry Knatko, academic director of the Business Management program at the Higher School of Business of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
At the same time, taking into account forecasts for the key issue, a quick return to cheap lending is also not expected. Even if the regulator starts reducing the rate at a more active pace, the business will not feel the effect immediately: interest on loans falls with a certain lag, the expert added.
Vladimir Chernov from Freedom Global believes that the most effective support measures now are debt restructuring of viable enterprises, providing guarantees on loans for small businesses and reducing payment deadlines for SMEs from large customers. According to him, this will allow companies to cope with a temporary shortage of working capital and save jobs.
In addition, businesses need to simplify tax reporting, the expert noted. This will reduce the administrative burden and expenses due to filling errors.
A slight reduction in the credit burden (by reducing the key one from a record 21% to the current 14%) has eased the situation of companies, but this is not enough to improve the situation in the long term, says Alexey Chichirenkov, a leading lawyer in corporate law and M&A practice. Inflationary pressures and sanctions persist, creating additional obstacles.
Therefore, sustainable improvement of the business environment is possible only with a comprehensive government policy. It should include curbing inflation, creating stable and predictable conditions for long-term planning, and eliminating unreasonable formal demands from government agencies.
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