Olga Gordienko, Director of the Kirov branch of AVVA RUS JSC, on the reasons for Russia's growth in the Doing Business international rating

Russia Achieved the Impossible

Russia's advancement in the World Bank's Doing Business 2017 ranking from 40th to 35th place is the result of real work by Russian officials from the Ministry of Economic Development and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) to improve the business environment. This opinion was expressed to journalists by the EBRD's Chief Economist, Sergei Guriev, though he noted that even if Russia achieves 20th place in the ranking, it will not replace the need to combat corruption, protect property rights, and improve regulation in construction and customs.

He says that judging by the prices of Russian assets, "investors do not yet fully believe that everything is good with the investment climate in the Russian Federation. And, despite very low prices in Russian markets, we are not yet observing a significant inflow of capital."

The goal set by Russian President Vladimir Putin in one of the 2012 "May Decrees" is to reach 20th place by 2018. Guriev notes that when Russia reached 50th place, no one believed it could advance further. In 2012, Russia was in 120th place. The task of improving its position was assigned to the ASI.

The strengthening of Russia's position in the ranking is linked to the development of business in the regions, believes Olga Gordiyenko, Director of the production site branch of the pharmaceutical company "AVVA RUS". Yes, federal programs and individual ministries are indeed making significant efforts to improve the business climate and environment, but the main driver of growth is at the local level. One method of action is the creation of expert councils for the development of SMEs under the governor.

Yes, admits Alina Popova, General Director of the "Ruservis" association and Head of the Center for Support and Development of Individual Entrepreneurship, there really are changes. In her opinion, their main source has been the ASI and the SME Corporation. It is also worth noting some improvement in one of the main problematic sectors for doing business—business lending, she says. Changes are also emerging here. They can be seen with the naked eye by the increase in advertising of bank services for small and medium-sized businesses, including for refinancing their loans.

If positive trends are also identified in reducing the attention of law enforcement agencies to entrepreneurial activity, then further growth in the international ranking can be confidently predicted, points out Alina Popova. The main thing, in her opinion, is not to forget that this is just a ranking, a kind of barometer of the real situation in the state's economy. But, it can be added, it is not the actual state of affairs itself, which is measured by the dynamics of GDP, industry, services, the number of private companies, and the people employed in them.

The Doing Business Report study has been published annually (since 2003) in the autumn by the World Bank Group. Based on 11 indicators, it assesses the ease of doing business in 189 countries. It evaluates regulations governing the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises and the actual law enforcement.