Since 2021, 8 of Russia’s top 10 online services have been blocked, pushed out, or taken over.

Last week, the EU added Russia to its list of countries with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. This does not carry consequences as severe as being placed on the FATF blacklist, but it will certainly create problems for Russians. (continued below)

On one side of the scale are billions of dollars in lost tax revenue. On the other is a major slice of the economy that affects prices, inflation, the labor market, and small businesses.

But the marketplaces enjoy strong lobbying support — they have people close to Vladimir Putin behind them.

For now, the score in this battle is 0:0, but sooner or later the government will have to pick a side and decide what matters more.

Traditional banks — and their regulator — are furious and are demanding that marketplaces be banned from offering such discounts. According to calculations by Sber, Russia’s largest bank, marketplaces have supposedly underpaid 1.5 trillion rubles ($19.4 billion) in taxes because of these discounts.

Marketplaces have become one of Russia’s national ideas and an important part of its economy.

It’s no surprise that marketplaces have developed big ambitions: the two largest platforms have even launched their own banks. Holders of the “right” cards are offered discounts at checkout.

Russian Banks Declare War on Marketplaces

Over the past five years, online retail in Russia has gone from a small but fast-growing segment to a major industry: according to surveys, seven out of ten Russians shop there at least occasionally.

The regulator does not disclose which companies specifically are in trouble. However, as The Bell previously reported, major firms such as VK, Ozon, United Aircraft Corporation, M-Video-Eldorado, and AFK Sistema have fallen into the red zone.

The Bank of Russia assesses companies’ ability to service debt using the ICR indicator, calculated as the ratio of EBITDA to interest expense. Its sample includes 89 of Russia’s largest companies.

In its previous report, the Central Bank had forecast this share would only reach 34% by the end of 2025.

Another 8.1% of Russian corporate debt is held by companies which are unable to pay interest at all.

Russian companies are having a harder time servicing their loans.

In the first half of 2025, 58.5% of corporate loans were provided to businesses facing elevated interest burdens, according to a report by the Bank of Russia (more below)

Russia’s economy is cooling down after rapid growth in 2024. The Q3 data has revived debates about whether Russia has already entered a recession. Russian authorities continue to insist there is no recession, pointing out unemployment has not risen and real wages continue to grow.

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By 2025, Russia was spending nearly the same share of its budget on debt service as the UK — even though Russia’s overall debt load was far smaller, at 17.67% of GDP versus more than 100% in the UK.

By world standards, Russia’s state borrowing is genuinely low. It stands at 38.6 trillion rubles ($475 billion), just 17.7% of GDP, this year and is set to rise to 43.7 trillion rubles ($537 billion), 18.6% of GDP, next year. By comparison, the average debt-to-GDP ratio in the Eurozone is 81.8%.

"The corporate sector has its own problems, mentioned by the central bank in a document published last week summarizing its latest decision on the key rate."

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"Similar issues are playing out with mortgages issued from mid-2023 to mid-2024, when Russians rushed to buy property before the cancellation of state-subsidized mortgages."

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"By the start of October, the proportion of non-performing loans made up 12.9% of all outstanding unsecured consumer debt."

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