In 2022 Russia saw a notable rise in personal bankruptcies, both through court proceedings and out-of-court processes, climbing by 44 percent to reach 285.3 thousand cases. This includes data drawn from the Unified Federal Bankruptcy Information Register, known as Fedresurs, and represents a broad trend across the country in the use of bankruptcy mechanisms.
Among the cases, 278.1 thousand people went bankrupt through court procedures, with an additional 7,118 citizens entering insolvency through non-court channels such as microfinance organizations. This distribution highlights how formal judicial routes still dominate the bankruptcy landscape, while alternative channels remain a meaningful, though smaller, share of filings.
Officials from the Ministry of Economic Development noted a continuing rise in the popularity of personal bankruptcy settlements each year, underscoring a shift in how individuals address overwhelming debt. The department emphasized that bankruptcy procedures are increasingly seen as a viable path for debt relief and financial restructuring in the modern economy.
Geographically, the Krasnodar Territory led in the absolute number of judicial bankruptcies, registering around 14 thousand cases. Close behind were the Moscow region with about 13.5 thousand, the city of Moscow with around 13.4 thousand, Bashkiria with roughly 11 thousand, Sverdlovsk region near 11 thousand, and St. Petersburg with approximately 10 thousand filings. Even neighboring smaller regions reported meaningful activity, including a stretch of 4 thousand cases at another large urban center, demonstrating a broad national pattern rather than a single hotspot.
Looking at dynamics, several regions showed striking growth in bankruptcy activity. Ingushetia recorded a threefold increase, rising from 122 cases in 2021 to 418 in 2022, and Chechnya followed with an increase from 158 to 511. The Altai Republic saw filings grow from 201 to 463, Sakhalin Territory from 331 to 709, Dagestan from 579 to 1,222, and Kabardino-Balkaria from 490 to 991. Krasnoyarsk Territory also exhibited a substantial rise, underscoring the uneven distribution of debt relief needs across the federation and signaling shifts in local economic pressures and creditor landscapes.
In parallel to debt relief developments, Russia introduced a significant policy package related to pensions and retirement programs. The government enacted laws aimed at protecting the rights of participants in voluntary retirement schemes, building a framework to secure benefits and guarantee the integrity of pension-related commitments. The proposed draft bill envisions a system to uphold participant rights within non-state pension funds, aligning with a broader strategy to stabilize retirement savings. The plan contemplates a role for the Deposit Insurance Corporation in overseeing guarantees and, in cases where a non-state pension fund license is cancelled or the fund itself becomes insolvent, ensures that compensation is drawn from a dedicated pension reserve guarantee fund. This approach seeks to minimize disruption for savers and maintain confidence in retirement planning amid evolving financial markets.