Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two centuries. Luxurious palaces, monumental buildings and monuments are located in the heart of Saint Petersburg. There are over 200 museums and their branches, including those not belonging to the state. Using high-tech and interesting themes, private museums exhibit modern art. Many of these museums are found in guidebooks, are recommended to visit and are the "trademark" of the city. Information agency Credinform presents a ranking of private museums of Saint Petersburg. Using the Information and Analytical system Globas, have selected Top-10 private museums by revenue in 2019.

Grand Maket Russia with the highest revenue (267,9 million RUB) is the first in the ranking. It is a miniature model of Russia, where collective images of the regions of the Russian Federation are demonstrated. This model is the largest in Russia and the second largest in the world. The uniqueness of the museum lies in the fact that it is fully interactive; visitors can independently set in motion the figures located at the exhibition facility.

Erarta is ranked the second by revenue (86,8 million RUB). This is the first museum of contemporary art in St. Petersburg. The name of the museum comes from two words "era" and "arta", which means "time of art". The collection includes more than 2,800 objects of art: paintings, sculptures, graphics, installations. The exhibitions feature works by Russian artists of the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. Erarta not only demonstrates the works of contemporary artists, but also supports Russian art and creates its own projects. The museum is very popular with all ages. Every visitor can find art to their liking here.

Planetarium 1 is the third (83,4 million RUB). It is one of the largest planetariums in the world. Space will always fascinate and attract people's attention. Absolutely every person wants to learn the history of the origin of the planet Earth and the solar system. Using modern technologies, the museum staff manages to transfer visitors to the center of the Universe and lift the veil of the mystery of the Universe.

Wax museum is ranked the forth (17,5 million RUB). Wax figures of popular film actors, musicians, cartoon characters and historical figures are its main specialization. The scale of the figures corresponds to the dimensions described in a book, in a movie or in life. For the first time in Russia, a wax exhibit appeared in Saint Petersburg, it was brought by Emperor Peter I from Europe.

Then follows the Museum of Russian vodka (17,4 million RUB). It tells about the history of the origin of the Russian national drink. The highlight of the museum is the tasting of various types of vodka, accompanied by traditional Russian snacks.

Museum of coffee (10,2 million RUB) is ranked the sixth. It is one of the most unusual and interesting museums in Saint Petersburg created for lovers and connoisseurs of real coffee. However, it gained popularity not only among his fans. Thanks to the museum, you can learn a lot about the history of coffee, as well as the regions where it grows and is produced, how it is roasted, as well as about popular recipes and brewing methods.

Saint Petersburg museum of dolls (4,9 million RUB) is the seventh in the ranking. The main exhibits are dolls made by students of the staging department of the Academy of Theater Arts. Their best works are exhibited in the halls of the museum. The layout of each showcase is similar to a theatrical stage with doll characters, which creates the effect of a kind of immersion of the viewer in a magical doll atmosphere. There are over 40 thousand of dolls in the museum.

Then follows the Museum of spices. Income for 2019 amounted to more than 1,6 million RUB. This museum is the only one in Russia and the third in the world. Here, visitors will be told about what spicy plants are, how and where they grow, how they are harvested and processed.

Saint Petersburg museum of toys (1,4 million RUB) is the first private museum of the city. It appeared in 1997. The main task of the museum is to collect, store and study the toy not only as a unique phenomenon of material culture, but also as a special kind of art, in which ancient national traditions and the most modern artistic trends are intertwined.

The last in the ranking is the Museum of nonconformist art (1,0 million RUB). Nonconformism is the unofficial (alternative or other) art of the USSR. Representatives of this trend are the artists of the USSR of the 1950s-1960s, who were banned in the country for reasons of political ideology and censorship. The museum collaborates with a number of leading galleries in Russia, Europe and the United States, including the State Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and its collection includes over 3,000 works.

The ranking results showed that Saint Petersburg firmly retains the title of the "Cultural Capital" of Russia, concentrating a large number of unique and diverse museums.

According to the Federal Tax Service as of July 1, 2020, the number of active legal entities in Russia was 3,6 million, that is by 234 thousand less than on July 1, 2019.

Picture 1. Newly established and liquidated companies, July 1, 2019 – July 1, 2020. Source: globas.ru

Companies are registered less often than liquidated. The number of organizations ceased to operate exceeds the number of newly established companies by 2 times: from July 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020, about 250 thousand new legal entities were registered, while more than 500 thousand companies were liquidated.

This downward trend has been observing for several years.

Reasons for liquidation of companies

Over the past 12 months, 508 thousand companies have ceased their activities. Including 422 thousand (83%) were excluded from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities by the registration authority as inactive with signs of a shell company.

For economic reasons, companies are closed much less often: 64 thousand companies have ceased operations due to voluntary liquidation; 7,6 thousand - after bankruptcy; 10 thousand – after reorganization; 4,5 thousand companies had other reasons to be liquidated.

Picture 2. Reasons of liquidation, July 1, 2019 – July 1, 2020. Source: globas.ru

The largest number of bankruptcies occurred in 2015: 11,2 thousand companies. On average, for this reason, about 10 thousand companies cease their activities per year.

It should be reminded that until October 6, 2020, a moratorium on bankruptcy is in effect for enterprises from affected sectors of the economy, strategic and systemically important companies.

Dynamics of registration of new companies

From July 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020, 251 thousand organizations are registered in Russia. In April 2020, an absolute historical minimum was recorded – 10,3 thousand, in May 2020 the indicator increased to 11,4 thousand, in June 2020 to 17,4 thousand newly registered companies. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, an average of 23 thousand companies were established monthly.

Picture 3. Dynamics of new registrations, April 1, 2020 – July 1, 2020. Source: globas.ru

LLC / OOO is the main legal form in Russia

Of the total number of 3,6 million operating companies, 3 million are commercial, including: limited liability companies (LLC) – 2,9 million, joint stock companies (JSC) - 63 thousand. Non-profit organizations include 618 thousand legal entities.

Most companies in the capital regions

As of July 1, 2020, the largest number of operating companies were registered in Moscow - 677 thousand (18,7%), the Moscow region - 201 thousand (5,5%) and Saint Petersburg - 266 thousand (7,3%) Thus, 31,5% of all companies in Russia are concentrated in three regions.

Picture 4. Distribution of companies by regions, as of July 1, 2020. Source: globas.ru