Russian Senator from the Murmansk Region Elena Diaghileva held a meeting on government support for small and medium-sized businesses.
"The changes that are currently being made to the tax system may provoke risks not only for businesses, but also for regions in terms of increasing the shadow sector, reducing tax revenues and, as a result, increasing the debt burden due to "expensive" commercial loans. Therefore, the situation is in the constant focus of the Federation Council. I would like to note that the climate of business activity largely depends on the position of the head of the region and the coherence of the government's work. And the Murmansk region serves as an illustrative example," the parliamentarian noted.
Elena Diaghileva cited the initiative of Governor Andrey Chibis, which he announced at a recent meeting of the State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic. The head of the Kola Arctic Region argued in detail the importance of applying a special approach to the Arctic regions due to the objective reasons for the rise in prices of almost all business processes in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
"The initiative has received the support of the heads of other Arctic regions. It is important to maintain a favorable business climate in a macroregion in which it is expensive to build, complex and expensive logistics, and population density is incomparable with the same average strip. The tax burden is already high: the share of tax revenue in the Arctic regions reaches 11%, compared with the Russian average of 3.4%. In the Russian Arctic, almost half of small and medium-sized businesses are at risk. Therefore, a consolidated approach to supporting entrepreneurs is important," the senator said.
On the eve of the meeting, the representative of the Murmansk Region in the upper house of Parliament, Elena Diaghileva, and the Minister of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of the region, Marta Govor, visited a furniture factory and an enterprise specializing in business automation, security systems and product labeling. Both companies have been operating in the Murmansk Region for several decades and actively participate in regional programs and competitions among the region's business community. During the visit, the senator and the head of the relevant department got acquainted with the equipment, talked with production staff, and discussed the replacement of materials, software, and equipment of foreign manufacture with Russian analogues, as well as possible growth points and company issues.
At the meeting, the Minister of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of the Murmansk Region, Marta Govor, confirmed that the greatest concern of the business community in the region today is related to the upcoming changes in tax legislation.
"The position that Governor Andrey Chibis voiced this week at a meeting of the relevant State Council commission was developed together with other Arctic regions, but the Murmansk Region is at the forefront of this work. Today we will once again discuss this important initiative to adjust the planned changes in the part of the Unified tax System for small and medium-sized businesses in the Arctic. I am sure Elena Vasilyevna Diaghileva will bring our arguments to the Federation Council. It is very valuable for us that senators listen to the position of the Murmansk region and the community of polar entrepreneurs," Marta Govor emphasized.
During the meeting, the minister said that in 2026, comprehensive support for small and medium-sized businesses in the region will continue. Thus, the financing of the Governor's Start program will remain in full and amount to 50 million rubles – this measure remains the most in demand among entrepreneurs and allows them to support projects in various fields of activity. At the same time, in 2026, as part of the Governor's Launch, it is additionally possible to receive a grant for the purchase of a franchise. In 2026, NMMC FORMAP (Fund) will continue to provide preferential microloans for SMEs, and the My Business Center will provide non–financial support to entrepreneurs and citizens who want to start their own business, including conducting training events on the basics of doing business, trainings and seminars on business planning, sales on marketplaces., legislative regulation of entrepreneurship. In order to increase entrepreneurial activity and increase production volumes, the "Growth Platform" program will continue to be implemented, which allows receiving support for promotion in the e-commerce market, in particular on the Wildberries site. The Murmansk Region joined the program within the framework of the International Arctic Forum. In 2026, the subjects of the region's tourism industry will receive support under the national project "Tourism and Hospitality", as well as regional subsidies for the development of domestic and inbound tourism.
The meeting was attended by the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Union/Severnaya Tatiana Ruskova, Chairman of the MRO of OPORA RUSSIA LLC Konstantin Kotlovsky, General Director of the Regional Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Evgeny Ustinov, Deputy Chairman of the MRO of Delovaya Rossiya LLC Maxim Gornaev, Anatoly Evenko of the Association of Coastal Fishermen and Farms of Murmansk, entrepreneur Alexander Luntsevich and participant of the Heroes of the North personnel program Andrey Pukhov. Representatives of the business community stressed the importance of maintaining the investment attractiveness of the region, noting the visible effect of the implementation of large-scale projects that increased the tourist flow and had a positive impact on the development of the territories. During the condemnation, such important topics as existing state support mechanisms, problematic aspects of work, as well as possible legislative initiatives that will contribute to the development of entrepreneurship in the Murmansk region were raised.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /