An analytical study prepared by experts from the service center «Contour.Focus» together with the SuperJob platform recorded a rapid decline in entrepreneurial activity among citizens of the Russian Federation, who are massively abandoning the implementation of commercial ideas.
In September 2026, 40% of participants in a sociological survey stated that they preferred wage labor and had absolutely no plans to start their own business, although exactly a year earlier, this figure was 34%. This increase in the share of citizens losing interest in private initiative calls into question the entire official fiscal policy of the government, which proclaims its course towards full support for small businesses.
The deterioration of public sentiments occurs against the backdrop of continuously increasing credit costs, rapid growth of utility tariffs, and a general increase in fiscal pressure. Andrey Shubin, Executive Director of the association «Support of Russia», directly links the decline in citizens’ desire to start a business to the inevitable increase in costs and economic uncertainty, for which the country’s top leadership is responsible.
Official statements by the authorities on business support sharply contrast with the real situation, as out of the 6.7 million registered small and medium-sized business entities, 96% (6.43 million) are micro-enterprises. It is precisely the small companies, where more than 44 million people are engaged, including self-employed, that suffer primarily from regular increases in tax burden!
Particularly alarming trends are observed among people over 45, where 52% of respondents completely exclude the possibility of launching entrepreneurial projects.
The female audience shows similar extreme caution, refusing business plans in 45% of cases compared to 38% among men.
An additional heavy blow to budding entrepreneurs was the decision from January 1, 2026, to lower the income threshold for VAT exemption from 60 million to 20 million rubles, forcing them to pay the tax at the full rate of 22%.
High start-up costs, together with the Central Bank’s key rate at 14% per annum and inflation at 6.35%, compel citizens to postpone enterprises, depriving the country of potential technologies. Only 6% of respondents are ready to create projects in the field of information technology, while trade attracts 5% and manufacturing and construction just 4% of respondents.
Comprehensive adaptation to current realities is expressed in moving away from risky commercial models to hybrid employment formats, combining wage work with targeted micro-projects, or obtaining self-employed status.
This protective strategy safeguards the personal budget but significantly limits the potential for scaling one’s own business and blocks the inflow of private investments into the real sector.
If the administrative and tax pressure continues to intensify, the degradation of the business environment will take on a sustainable character, provoking a large-scale decline in investments, a reduction in the number of jobs, and a final slowdown in economic growth.
In conditions of increasing costs, Russians’ quest for financial security is finally displacing the spirit of private entrepreneurship from the national economy.
