Krasnodar, 1 April. The multiple anti-Russian sanctions have already heavily affected the country’s economy, especially its small and midsize businesses. Some companies are facing acute deficiency of imported component parts; others have to deal with their customers’ panicking at the background of political and economic crisis; still others have been deprived of international sales markets.
According to the member of the regional Civic Chamber Murat Dudarev, small and middle businesses are now in a very anxious mood.
“The market has not yet fully felt the consequences [of the crisis] for the economy, but many companies whose business was based mainly on imports and calculated in dollars began to experience hardships. Now it is time for the state either to give genuine freedom and as many preferences and perks as possible to entrepreneurial activity, or to get prepared to hard economic turbulence throughout the country,” he stated.
Vladilena Gredina, owner of a restaurant chain, explained how the sanctions affected the restaurateurs: “The prices for locally grown products [also] soared up, but we continue to work.”
Lawyer Anna Zakharova confessed that she is not feeling any difficulties, though she took an active position to help the business sector and is giving advice. “In the time of depreciation of money, the business sector has to change the very character of its work, switch to barter, conclude additional agreements to existing contracts, and negotiate with partners. Small and midsize businesses have to unite, actively participate in activities related to business support theme, make use of the government’s support schemes, actively study new legislative changes, or take recourse to experts,” she said. Yulia Alpatova, Director of AutbuK Accountant Company, was facing panic of her clients who were anxious about the safety of their savings under the current conditions and had to ask her for support: “My company has not felt any reduction of openings of new private entrepreneurships and limited liability companies so far – I think that what we will see will be the increasing number of them. When panic falls away, people will understand that now it is time to act and develop their business in Russia – for a crisis may either kill or provide an impetus to development,” she asserted.
Pavel Petrov, Commercial Direvtor of the DOGMA Construction Holding, noted that there is no deficiency of construction materials in the market so far – though the prices did go up: “We rely on our producers and we believe that they will tune up their productions in the nearest future so that the pricing policy will stabilize,” he said. “I believe that the constructors’ task is to retain the price of a square metre and to do all they can to let people buy flats at most favourable terms. At the same time, our industry is looking forward to subsidizing the mortgage credit programs.”
Aleksandr Varivoda, founder of the NoviStore store selling security systems, shared his observations on artificial price gouging done by some suppliers: “I work in the sphere of whole and retail sale. It goes without saying that in this sphere one may not accumulate big stocks of goods and component parts. When the market began to change in late February, most of the people responsible for supplies and sales began to artificially drive up their prices, alleging that they would have to buy new batches at new prices. When the sanctions began, the difficulties in the business sphere assumed a deceptive character. A customer was facing overpricing everywhere. I feel nothing but shame when I see it happen at the global level.”
