Trends in business activity in Russia during the crisis

The crisis state of the economy, combined with new business niches under the sanctions, opened up opportunities for the development of entrepreneurship in Russia, which has been actively implemented in recent years. However, the next round of the economic crisis against the backdrop of the outbreak of the pandemic caused the expected decline in the business environment due to the forced downtime period. Despite the fact that by the second half of 2021 the situation had stabilized, the political decision taken in February 2022 led to unprecedented sanctions pressure on Russia from the collective West, which could not but affect the business environment. The study assesses the development of entrepreneurship in Russia during the pandemic and after it, reveals the trends that have developed under the influence of the ongoing crisis and their causes. It has been established that in the period 2020-2022, which are among the most difficult socio-economic periods for Russia over the past decade, entrepreneurial activity has remained at a fairly high level. Despite the decrease in the total number of active enterprises in the country from 2.8 million to 2.6 million by 2022, the total number of enterprises liquidated per year also decreased and almost halved by the end of the study period. An assessment of the dynamics of the number of active enterprises in the context of high rates of their turnover showed that the most favorable situation was observed in 2020, and 2021 was characterized by a significant decline. At the same time, the situation stabilized in 2022, as a result of which the number of active enterprises with high turnover growth rates increased.