More than a half of Russian businesspeople said the situation in their company either remained stable or improved in the past six months (66%), and the percentage of leaders expecting an even brighter future for their businesses hit a record high of 58%. These are the findings of CEO Barometer, a survey conducted by Yakov and Partners in collaboration with the Roscongress Foundation, Business Russia, and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. The report is timed to coincide with the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025).
However, the percentage of respondents who reported a deterioration sharply increased – up to 34% – which is higher than even the 2022 figure. For comparison: in 2024, only 16% of companies said their situation has become worse. The reduced optimism is observed primarily in capital-intensive industries such as mining, heavy industry, oil and gas sector, chemicals, energy, and transportation. On the contrast, companies in IT, retail, and consumer goods sectors, as well as in medicine and healthcare, are feeling more confident.
At the same time, 90% of executives believe the situation will improve or remain stable in the second half of the year, and this optimism is steadily growing: as many as 58% of companies expect an improvement (versus 53% a year ago and 48% in December 2022).
The findings indicate that Russian businesses have managed to adapt to the new global economic realities. Specifically, trade restrictions have ceased to be an issue: only 20% of business leaders still see them as important. For comparison: in 2022, the figure was 63%. Geopolitical tensions are also no longer viewed as a decisive factor: as little as 15% of respondents said it is a key challenge for them.
However, staff shortage has continued to be a priority issue for Russian companies: 48% of executives cited understaffing among their top concerns. The second most important issue is the cost of capital alongside the persistently high key interest rate. Although most companies (62%) are keeping their investment portfolio unchanged or even expanding it, 25% have suspended or slowed down some of their investment projects, and 13% have put everything they could on hold. This concern was also reported by leaders of high-growth firms in our recent study "High-growth firms. How to forge champions." Unsurprisingly, companies in retail, consumer goods, and finance sectors are more optimistic about investment, while those from capital-intensive industries are in a mood of pessimism.
In these circumstances, companies see cost reduction, attraction and retention of talent, introduction of new technology, and expansion of output as their key growth vectors in the near future.
