The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), established in June 1990, is a non-governmental organisation promoting the interests of Russia’s business community. The RSPP President is Alexander Shokhin.

The RSPP was set up to promote Russian business interests in Russia and abroad, to help make Russia more business friendly and attractive to investors, and to maintain the balance of interests of business, government and society.

The RSPP represents the interests of all Russian businesses, regardless of their size, sector or location. The RSPP operates in two capacities: as a non-governmental organisation, and as a national association of employers. This enables the RSPP to promote the interests of its members most effectively.

The core aim of the regional branches and employers’ associations of the RSPP is to foster the most favourable conditions for business throughout the Russian Federation. This is achieved through social and economic development in the regions, fostering engagement between government and business, tax policy, encouraging innovation and modernisation, supporting and developing SMEs, and pricing policy of natural monopolies. All companies are able to have their say on social and economic policy issues through the RSPP’s many sectoral and regional associations.

The RSPP, as an association of employers, benefits from working closely with governmental authorities through the Russian Trilateral Commission on the Regulation of Social and Labour Relations, and regional and territorial trilateral commissions.

RSPP committees and commissions are considered by governmental authorities as key platforms for debating the most significant economic and social issues. Having a large number of discussion and decision-making platforms means that the interests of all RSPP members are taken into account when developing RSPP proposals. These platforms include the RSPP Convention, meetings of the RSPP Board and Board Bureau, Committees and Commissions, working and advisory bodies under the Russian President, government and federal authorities. Cooperation agreements are the foundation for engagement with governmental authorities. RSPP representatives participate in working groups on specific bills. Regulatory impact assessments (RIA) are one of the most effective forms of engagement between government and business. The implementation of RIA has helped improve many regulations that would have been detrimental to business interests.

There is growing demand for alternative dispute settlement bodies under the RSPP (arbitration, the joint commission on corporate ethics and the joint mediation service) as well as the RSPP`s registry. For example, non-executive directors and professional trustees of the board of directors of joint-stock companies with federally-owned shares have been elected from members of the national registry of non-executive directors under the RSPP.

The RSPP works together with trade unions. In 2013 a General Agreement was signed between national associations of trade unions, national associations of employers, and the government of the Russian Federation for 2014-2016.

The Russian economy faces multiple challenges. Industry has stagnated, investment has decreased. The volatility of the rouble's exchange rate creates a lot of uncertainty for businesses. Under these circumstances, the RSPP’s work with governmental authorities to promote a more favourable investment climate is particularly important. This is one of the key priorities of the RSPP both nationally and internationally. Administrative barriers are a major obstacle to making Russian business more attractive for investors. While some barriers are being removed, others are being created. Regulatory impact assessments are useful, but this mechanism is not comprehensive. One of the key long-term objectives of the RSPP is to improve state inspection and enforcement activities in Russia. The RSPP will continue working with the government on the "deoffshorisation" of the Russian economy. We believe that the key to success is to strike a balance between the state’s aim to bring businesses and taxes back home and the need to reduce both the tax and administrative burden.

The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union came into force on 1 January 2015. The RSPP works closely with its partners in Belarus and Kazakhstan on developing ways to remove trade barriers.

The RSPP is fully engaged in international activities. In 2013, the RSPP coordinated the B20 process within the Russian presidency. Business recommendations to the G20 leaders were prepared. The RSPP was granted BIAC [Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD] observer status, allowing the Russian business community to collaborate successfully with their OECD partners. In 2014, the International Council for Cooperation and Investment (ICCI) resumed its activities after a brief hiatus. ICCI meetings were held on 7 April 2014, 16 September 2014, and 11 December 2015, bringing together representatives of leading international companies and business associations working in Russia.