The number of Russian citizens who declared bankruptcy and faced liquidation in the first half of 2022 increased by 37.8% compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development.

From January to the end of June, 121,313 Russian citizens filed for bankruptcy and had their assets liquidated to pay off their debts, the report said. Among them, the highest number of bankruptcy declarations came from Moscow with more than 6,000 individuals, followed by the region surrounding the capital, with more than 5,600.

In the same time frame, 20,185 Russian citizens filed for bankruptcy and went through debt restructuring, according to the report.

The number of individual bankruptcies in the country nearly tripled from 68,980 in 2019 to 192,833 in 2021, the report adds.

“In absolute terms, the number of citizen bankruptcies has already reached very substantial levels,” said ministry official Alexei Yukhnin.

A bit of context: Although there is no clear link between the significant increase in individual bankruptcy filings and the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Russia has since seen many top international conglomerates shut down. to their operations in the country or sever their commercial relations. Meanwhile, Russia has been hit with sanctions, including asset freezes by the United States, European Union, Japan and other governments.