Companies engaged in scientific research have begun closing en masse in Russia
Russia has seen a sharp increase in the number of companies in the research and development (R&D) sector that have been liquidated. In the first five months of 2026, more than 1,000 such organizations ceased operations in the country, a figure significantly higher than a year earlier.
According to estimates by Russian media based on data from SPARK, Rosstat, and other sources, 1,037 companies operating in the R&D sector were closed between January and May 2026. This is 44% more than during the same period in 2025. At the same time, the number of new registrations fell by 16% to 478 organizations.
Data from the Rusprofile counterparty verification service, which uses information from the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, shows a similar trend. According to its estimates, 903 companies in the R&D sector ceased operations in January–April—28% more than a year earlier. During the same period, 579 new organizations were established.
As of mid-May, there were approximately 29,000 active companies in the research and development sector in Russia. The vast majority of them are engaged in the natural and technical sciences, while several thousand more operate in the humanities and biotechnology. Significantly fewer organizations specialize in fields such as nanotechnology, cybersecurity, and nuclear energy.
Experts attribute the crisis in the sector to several factors. In particular, funding for scientific research in Russia is increasingly concentrated in the public sector and the defense industry, while private companies face high interest rates, a heavy tax burden, and limited access to resources.
Vyacheslav Shirikov, Technical Director of the Lartech Group of Companies, noted that the share of R&D spending in Russia’s GDP has fallen from 1.1% to 0.9%. According to him, the situation is further exacerbated by sanctions-induced isolation, which makes it difficult for Russian developers to access technologies and equipment.
A separate problem has been the decline in so-called “import substitution” projects. Some of the companies established in 2022–2024 to replace Western technologies began closing down after their initial contracts expired. New orders are increasingly going to large players, while small developers are losing their ability to compete.
Analysts also point to a staffing problem and the exodus of young specialists from Russian science. Against this backdrop, the Kremlin’s goal of increasing research and development spending to 2% of GDP by 2030 may be at risk, according to representatives of the Russian scientific community.
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