Small businesses in Russia are being squeezed out of the market: access to state data has become tens of times more expensive

In Russia, access to open state data, actively used by businesses and citizens, has sharply increased in price. The cost of services for checking counterparties and real estate has risen tenfold. This is reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU), according to UNN.

DetailsIn particular, the price of a package of one hundred extracts from the real estate register increased from 910 rubles to 29 thousand, and a subscription to Professional Market and Company Analysis Systems or “Kontur.Fokus” reaches from 15 to 50 thousand rubles monthly. For small businesses, this means additional costs, which can amount to more than 7% of all operating expenses.

Small entrepreneurs are effectively being pushed out of the market due to information inequality: formally open state data become inaccessible without expensive commercial services. The most affected sectors are construction, trade, and financial services, as well as real estate companies

The reason for the price increase is cited as rising costs for maintaining registers, but in fact, it became a consequence of the war against Ukraine, which led to inflation, economic isolation, and a general increase in costs for businesses.

It is noted that an additional blow to business was the narrowing of access to databases within Russia itself. Many details that were previously in open access are now restricted, and over the past three years, law enforcement agencies have actively shut down illegal databases that were used as a cheaper alternative. Thus, entrepreneurs have lost even unofficial ways of verifying information.

“Currently, even basic checks of counterparties or real estate turn into a significant financial burden for Russian entrepreneurs and citizens. In fact, the war that the Kremlin unleashed against Ukraine is hitting its own citizens, who now pay the price for aggression every day – even for attempts to obtain ‘open’ information,” the FISU post states.

RecallThe Russian pulp and paper industry is experiencing a deep crisis, with enterprises operating at a loss and accumulating debts. The largest timber industry holding “Segezha Group” declared a net debt of 147.9 billion rubles.

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