Assessment and improvement of measures of government support for small and medium-sized businesses under sanctions pressure

For the moment, the Russian Federation is suffering from the sanctions imposed on the country. They changed the business environment for Russian enterprises. That’s why it is important to conduct a study to help determine the priority areas for improving government support for small and medium-sized businesses in the Volgograd region. The authors set the goal of analyzing government support measures for small and medium-sized businesses in the Volgograd region provided by the regional government under sanctions pressure, as well as developing suggestions for their improvement. When writing the article, the following scientific research methods were used: statistical, graphical, tabular, and analytical ones. An analysis of government support measures for small and medium-sized businesses in the Volgograd region under sanctions pressure is presented in the article. The typical problems are connected with the lack of working capital and investments necessary for sustainable development. The problems also consist of a reduction in demand for goods and services due to a fall in real incomes, rising prices, and shortages of materials, components, and raw materials. The steps are identified as the main measures of government support; their realization will contribute to the appearance of conditions for the sustainable development of small and medium-sized businesses suffering from sanctions. These steps are as follows: the first is a preliminary discussion of measures that are meant to support SMEs with their participation. This condition should be approved by law. Then comes the development of the logistics chains of business entities and the creation of comprehensive conditions for the development of SMEs. The business condition of SMEs must be controlled constantly for the identification of government support measures that would give the highest efficiency. The government support for small and medium-sized businesses should comply with the basic principles of organizational and legal regulation for this type of firm.