пандемия

Introduction. Throughout the existence of the Russian Federation, its economy is constantly being shaken by crises, and the year 2020 was no exception, when the Covid crisis broke out in the country, as a result of which service enterprises were badly affected. In this regard, we believe that assessing the impact of the current crisis on small and medium-sized businesses, as well as analyzing state support measures, is an urgent and timely task being solved by economic science. Theoretical analysis. Around the world, small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the economy, since in developed countries their share occupies more than 80%. The increased attention and demand of this sphere is due to their high adaptability to crisis situations, as well as the involvement of a significant number of employees in the business. As for Russian realities, in the early 1990s, the demand for this type of enterprise was insignificant, due to the legacy of the Soviet Union in the form of large monopolies, but in the process of transformation and the transition to the digital economy, the country’s government is forming infrastructure aimed at supporting this sector. Empirical analysis. The response in developed countries of the world (USA, Germany, Italy, UK) to the Covid-19 crisis was the support of entrepreneurs in the form of interest-free lending, deferral of loan and leasing payments, and employee benefits. In Russia, on the one hand, the rescue package was close to the world one, but in fact many entrepreneurs were unable to take advantage of them, due to high bureaucracy and a weak regulatory and legislative framework. Results. The Covid crisis has largely struck the Russian service sector, as a result, more than 3 million entrepreneurs are on the verge of closing their businesses, and some have already become bankrupt. The negative factors that aggravated the situation were also: a decrease in real incomes of the population, a decrease in oil prices and economic sanctions against Russia. As a result of a circumstances combination, the economy plunged into crisis and the Government of the Russian Federation was forced to develop measures aimed at maintaining small and medium-sized businesses, but these measures are not enough and enterprises continue to close. The only positive point is the transition of most enterprises to an online format, which brings the country closer to the digital economy.