The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) conducted another round of surveys among industrialists and entrepreneurs in March 2025. The composite Index rose to 47,6 points, up 1,4 points from the previous month.

The Index for the market of manufactured products fell 1,6 points to 47,7. In particular, indicators for demand in the industry and for companies' own products/services, which had returned to the positive assessment zone last month, failed to sustain their position—their values equalized at 48,1 points. Accordingly, the assessment of demand in the industry decreased by 2,4 points, while the assessment of demand for companies' products or services dropped by 4,1 points.

The B2B Index showed negative dynamics, decreasing by 2,3 points to 45,7 points.

New orders showed little change: 65,4% of companies gave neutral responses, one-fifth of surveyed enterprises reported an increase in new orders, and 14,4% of companies saw a decline.

Companies faced greater difficulty in meeting their obligations to counterparties, compared to the previous month: this component of the Index stood at 46,4 points, down from February's 51,1 points. The indicator for "fulfillment of obligations by counterparties" also shifted negatively, dropping by 2,5 points to 38,5 points.

The Logistics Index reached 47,7 points, with a marginal monthly increase of 0,3 points.

Warehouse inventory levels held steady at 72,1% of organizations; one-fifth of enterprises reported an increase, while 8,7% saw a decrease.

The "average delivery time" indicator stood at 41,8 points (+0,5 points). 80,8% of respondents reported no change in delivery times for their companies. For 17,3% of organizations, delivery took longer than in the previous reporting period. Only 1,9% of enterprises managed to deliver products faster than a month ago.

The B2G Index moved into the positive assessment zone with a value of 50,3 points, rising by 1,9 points on the scale.

This growth reflected improvements in two key indicators: the dynamics of business relationships with financial institutions and foreign partners.

The "business-government relations" indicator, in turn, maintained its value at 53,4 points.

The Financial Markets Index stood at 46,5 points, up by 2 points compared to February's results.

The positive dynamics of the Index were attributed to growth in the indicators for "state of stock and currency markets." The former rose by 2,6 points to 48,8 points, while the latter increased by 3,2 points to 47,8 points.

The "financial position of companies" indicator remained unchanged at 42,8 points.

The Business Climate Sentiment Index jumped 8,2 points to 48,1

The share of positive assessments nearly doubled during the reporting period—from 7,6 p.p. to 14,4 p.p.

67,3% of survey participants held a neutral opinion about the state of the business climate in the country.

Social and Investment Activity Index in March 2025

As in the previous reporting period, more than two-thirds of surveyed enterprises were engaged in investment projects.

Among organizations investing in projects, 75,4% implemented their programs without any changes to schedules or budgets. The figure rose 9,3 percentage point, marking a significant change.

14,5% of enterprises fell behind on investment projects, while 2.9% completed them ahead of schedule., while 2,9% were ahead of schedule.

Additionally, 14,5% of companies had to reduce their investment volumes during the reporting period, while only 4,3% of enterprises managed to increase them.

88,5% of companies hired new employees. Only 2,9% of respondents reported layoffs in their organizations. Measures to reduce working hours for cost optimization were implemented by 6,7% of organizations.

88,5% of companies ran employee social programs, with the share increasing by 5 p.p.

Social support for other categories of citizens was provided by 52,9% of companies, a decline of 8 p.p., returning to the level recorded in January's survey round.

*100% represents the total number of companies that reported implementing social programs for employees. Companies could select multiple responses, so the sum of shares does not equal 100%.

In 71% of companies, the budget for social programs remained unchanged.

26,9% of respondents reported increased expenditures, while only 2,2% of surveyed enterprises reduced their budgets.

Approximately 70% of companies took steps to ease labor market pressures. Half of the organizations sent employees for internships and/or invested in advanced training for staff. 28,8% of companies organized temporary employment.

According to 45% of respondents, the business climate deteriorated in 2024. About 28% of the respondents believe that the situation remained unchanged while a similar proportion chose the response «the state of business climate has improved». Over the previous year the share of negative ratings has increased significantly – by 14 percentage points. At the same time companies have become less likely to provide positive responses.

In 2024 companies’ performance was successful, according to 50,5% of respondents. A third selected «stable development» and 16,5% chose «challenging». Compared to 2023, respondents significantly more frequently selected positive evaluations, alongside a decline in the «stable» response category.

Russian companies maintained investment performance levels comparable to 2023. During the reporting period a majority of surveyed enterprises (51,9%) pursued large-scale investment projects. The volume of investments of a third of organizations was not so significant. These findings align with official statistics: fixed capital investments grew by 8.6% year-over-year in January-September 2024. However, about 15% of respondents indicated their companies did not implement investment programs in 2024.

In general, most companies anticipate maintaining their 2023-2024 investments levels in 2025. 85,4% of firms have planned investment programs. Over 50% of surveyed enterprises intend to allocate substantial investment funds. The investment budget of a third of the organizations will not be so significant. About 15% of companies expect no investment activity in 2025.

In the short-term, almost two third of the surveyed enterprises plan to invest in upgrading existing equipment. 41,2% of companies plan production facility retooling.

35,7% have allocated budgets for capital repairs of buildings and structures within a period of one to three years. The plans of 30.7% of companies involve the construction of new buildings and structures.

A quarter of companies want to invest in employee training and about under a fifth of the surveyed organizations (18,6%) intend to direct funds to digitalization projects.

13,6% are pursuing R&D work and innovation projects.

About a tenth of respondents are investing in the introduction of the best available technologies; in energy conservation, in programs to improve the energy efficiency of the enterprise; in intangible assets (patents, licenses, etc.).

The most pressing issue for Russian businesses remains the shortage of qualified personnel, as reported by 70.1% of respondents. 

The second major challenge, highlighted by 62.1%, is the high key interest rate. The relevance of this issue has surged over the past year — in the previous reporting period, it was mentioned significantly less frequently (44.2%). 

Rising tariffs and increasing producer prices were cited by a similar number of survey participants, placing these problems in third place among the main obstacles for businesses in Russia. 

The next two issues were excessively high taxes and the volatility of the ruble exchange rate. Respondents mentioned these significantly less often, with a combined share of 29.1%. The instability of the ruble exchange rate has become a slightly lesser concern compared to 2023, when this issue was noted by 45.9% of businesses. 

A quarter of respondents identified difficulties in conducting foreign trade operations (logistics, settlements, insurance, etc.) as a key problem. In contrast to other issues, the relevance of this challenge has increased significantly — the share of this response rose by approximately 10 percentage points. 

One-fifth of respondents believe that declining demand is limiting the operations of Russian companies. Slightly fewer businesses (17.5%) cited difficulties in accessing credit as a major obstacle. 

13.6% of organizations listed excessive regulatory and supervisory pressure as a key challenge, while around 12% of respondents selected "unfair competition" and "high administrative barriers." 

Approximately one in ten companies complained about an inefficient judicial system, difficulties in connecting to utility, transport, and other infrastructure networks, and underdeveloped infrastructure in general. 

Somewhat less frequently (7.8%), businesses mentioned "excessively high fines for violations, including turnover-based penalties" and "insufficient protection of property and contractual rights." 

The Most Critical Problems Hindering Business Activity
in Russia (2023–2024), %

The survey allowed multiple responses, so the total does not sum to 100%. 
Figures are rounded to whole numbers.
Only responses exceeding 10% in 2023 are included. 

6.3% of surveyed enterprises cited poor-quality public administration as a problem, while 5.3% pointed to corruption in government bodies. 

Fewer than 5% of respondents selected "risks of asset nationalization," "lack of clear national development goals," "inefficient tax administration," and "tightening environmental regulations."