Aleksandr Evgenievich Suglobov, Tatyana Ivanovna Kuzmina, Elena Anatolyevna Bessonova, Sergey Valeryevich Bank, Alsu R. Nabiyeva
In practice, small and medium-sized businesses often have a limited range of suppliers, which in some way can act as a protection against acute crisis manifestations. Thus, the companies involved in regional supply chains were the least affected by the developing pandemic. At the same time, in other situations, small and medium-sized businesses are directly connected with foreign supplies from countries that are more affected by the events related to COVID-19, which increases the danger to the economic security of companies. Small and medium-sized businesses are in dire need of assistance from the state in the form of financial and non-financial support measures that will help maintain their economic security. These entities can also maintain the desired economic security on their own: the search for new markets and corresponding niches, trading platforms, the expansion of the product range, and the spectrum of services through the development of the Internet space and remote work in the online mode. The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the provision of Russian state support to maintain the economic security of small and medium-sized businesses and the rationality of the strategy for managing such businesses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on statistical data and economic facts, it was confirmed that the state support implemented in the context of the pandemic turned out to be small and insufficient. At the same time, there is a fault of small and medium-sized businesses themselves. In addition, direct financial support did not receive extensive popularity, in contrast to the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, where it appeared to be an efficient and effective way to help in the pandemic.