In the first quarter of this year, Russia saw a sharp uptick in out-of-court bankruptcy cases, increasing by 95.9 percent from the same period last year and totaling 2,510 filings. The figure comes from data in Fedresurs, the Unified Federal Bankruptcy Information Register, and was reported by socialbites.ca.
Aleksey Yukhnin, the head of Fedresurs, highlighted a growing public interest in the free debt-relief option and explained that more people are learning about the procedure’s features, which is contributing to a lower rate of rejected applications. He noted that heightened awareness translates into more applicants completing the process successfully.
Commenting on the register data, Ilya Torosov, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, observed that out-of-court bankruptcy has become clearer and more approachable for ordinary Russians. He described the process as straightforward, accessible through MFCs (multifunctional centers), and free of charge. Unlike judicial bankruptcy, initiation of an out-of-court proceeding is a step citizens can take themselves.
Torosov added that ongoing work is underway to broaden the out-of-court mechanism at the direction of President Vladimir Putin. While exact figures are not yet available, the aim is to make the procedure even more accessible, with particular emphasis on pensioners and other socially vulnerable groups.
Fedresurs data show that from September 2020 through March 2023, 16,075 out-of-court bankruptcies were initiated, involving a total debt of 5.55 billion rubles. Of these cases, 10,942 transactions were completed, with 52 percent of filings resulting in lawsuits. This snapshot illustrates both the rising use of out-of-court relief and the ongoing demand for debt resolution options in the Russian economy.
In related findings, Fedresurs also noted a decline in the number of company bankruptcies over the past year, suggesting a shift in the corporate landscape alongside individual procedures. The trends point to a broader shift toward accessible, consumer-centered debt relief tools and a move away from more traditional, court-centered processes. Analysts in Canada and the United States may view these developments as part of a wider pattern where debt-relief options are becoming easier to access through government-backed registries and centralized information platforms, reflecting a global push toward transparent financial remedies for households and small businesses.