Facing the war effort in Ukraine, the Russian government has increased tax pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leading to a wave of closures and a deterioration of purchasing power, which Vladimir Putin has acknowledged as an economic decline. A major reform has reduced the VAT exemption threshold by two-thirds, from 60 million to 20 million rubles in turnover, and now imposes a proportional monthly levy, while the VAT rate has been raised from 20% to 22%. These measures, intended to finance a military budget representing 30% of state spending, are financially suffocating entrepreneurs. A study by the Higher School of Economics in Moscow indicates that one-third of SME bosses fear they will have to cease their activity, prompting the government to temporarily suspend certain provisions for the restaurant sector alone.