Revealing of prerequisites of the economy shadow sector expansion to prevent threats to economic security

The COVID-19 pandemic has been damaging the economies of all countries of the world, affecting not only business structures, but also citizens since its emergence. The developing shadow sector, which poses a direct threat to Russia's economic security, further exacerbates the economic problems. The article highlights the main reasons of existence of such a sector of economy: the difficult economic situation and unemployment encourages shadow activities. The authors analyze the unemployment rate during the spread of infection, and also consider measures to support the Government of the Russian Federation at this time. Indirect signs of the development of the shadow sector of economy are established on the basis of an increase in the share of cash circulation, the growth of the cryptocurrency exchange rate and activities of illegal business structures in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Rosstat and the Federal Financial Monitoring Service provide data on the dynamics for 20092018, demonstrating the decline of the Russian shadow economy since 2016. The conclusions demonstrate the need for an up-to-date assessment by regulatory authorities of the current size of the country's shadow economy in connection with prerequisites of expansion of this sector in 2019-2020.