Russian Companies Have Been Hit By A "tsunami" Of Bankruptcies
4- 4.11.2026, 19:09
- 1,878
Due to tax increases and a decline in demand.
Nearly 5,400 Russian companies were declared bankrupt in the first nine months of 2026, according to Kommersant reports, citing the Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Information (Fedresurs). This is 13.3% more than during the same period in 2025. In the third quarter, the figure rose by 18.5% year-over-year—1,800 firms were declared bankrupt. The number of newly filed insolvency cases involving legal entities rose by nearly a quarter (+23.6%) over the nine-month period, totaling 4,600. In addition, 49 external administration and financial rehabilitation proceedings were initiated in January–September, compared to 39 in the first nine months of 2025 (+25%).
According to Fedresurs data, in the third quarter of 2026, the number of public notices regarding the intention to file for bankruptcy—from debtors themselves—jumped by 35.6% year-over-year, and from creditors—by 13.6%. The share of cases initiated during this period based on requests from the Federal Tax Service also increased—from 15.6% to 24.2%. Legal entities themselves reported their own insolvency in 17.2% of cases. The state of Russian business is being affected by falling consumer demand, a high key interest rate, and a growing tax burden. Last year, the authorities increased the corporate income tax, and this year they raised the VAT to 22% and tightened the tax regime for small businesses, depriving hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs of the simplified tax system and lower tax rates.
Bankruptcies and complaints of near-bankruptcy have affected the IT sector, retail, infrastructure companies, and even enterprises producing goods for the defense-industrial complex. “Inflation, volatility in the key interest rate, and rising borrowing costs have slowly but surely set off a domino effect,” stated Anastasia Shamshina, attorney and founder of K’AMELAWT .
In late July, Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), warned of a wave of bankruptcies coming as early as this fall. He noted that this is the result of the Central Bank’s policy, which refuses to lower the discount rate and is creating a “cumulative effect of negative factors in the economy.” The Bank of Russia last cut the rate on July 24, from 14.25% to 14%. It has remained at that level ever since. Meanwhile, Russian companies’ profits for the first six months of the year fell to their lowest levels since the COVID-19 crisis.
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