Household savings have become the main source of financing for Russia’s economy as sanctions shut Western capital markets to domestic companies, central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said, as per The Moscow Times (original article in Russian).
…
“Before 2022, our borrowers and companies had access to, let’s say, the savings of citizens in Europe and the United States — actual savings. Because inflation in those countries was low and interest rates were low, our companies could borrow those funds at relatively low rates,” said Elvira Nabiullina.
“Put simply, our export sector, which borrowed abroad, could rely on financing from European and U.S. citizens to expand production of goods it exported there,” she said.
“But now global savings are unavailable to us,” Nabiullina added. “The only source of financing, practically the only one, is Russian savings — and high inflation, high interest rates.”
…
More than half of large Russian companies ended 2025 with declining profits, cut back or froze investment projects, and many are preparing layoffs.
…
For the first time, 74 Russian regions have fallen into fiscal deficit.
A wave of mass business closures has begun in Russia.
Russia’s Finance Ministry has acknowledged that the budget gap is widening at a record pace.
The state statistics service reported that more than 17,000 Russian enterprises declared losses.
VkusVill became the first major food retailer in Russia to scale back its network, closing 286 stores in 2025.
Magnit, the country’s largest retailer by store count, ended 2025 with a net loss.
On April 3, 2026, it was reported that 22 Russian industries had entered deep contraction.
Russian clothing retailer Zolla closed 35 stores amid a sharp drop in profits.
…
Meanwhile, Russia’s higher tax burden [to combat the rising public deficit due to war expenses) has sharply worsened conditions for small businesses, with around half of firms now operating without profit, according to business surveys, underscoring mounting pressure on an economy already strained by high borrowing costs and slowing consumer demand.
Half of small businesses surveyed by the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) said they were no longer profitable, while the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said 65% of enterprises failed to post a profit in the first quarter, the RBC news website reported.
“Many have slipped into losses because they were unable to choose the right tax regime,” CCI Vice President Elena Dybova [said].
…
Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov has previously said conditions in the Russian economy had become more difficult than in recent years, with businesses feeling the strain most acutely because of tax changes, high interest rates and labor shortages.
According to the CSR survey, the main factors holding back business development were weak demand, cited by 37.5% of respondents, rising costs (26.5%) and high borrowing rates (26%).
Around half of respondents (52.5%) said they had no access to credit financing.
…