Vladimir Shalayev, lawyer, BMS Law Firm:

So far you cannot state that individual bankruptcies have become a popular and convenient procedure for those facing financial difficulties. However, there are some positive trends in this area, as of 15 April 2017, the number of filed petitions for bankruptcies made approximately 35 thous.

Still, it must be borne in mind that the overwhelming majority of such cases are applications for sale of assets.

The amount of cases on debt restructuring, on the contrary, is insignificant which is related to the low income level of the population. With income of no more than 30 thousand rubles it does not make sense to restructure debts.

This is the reason why individual bankruptcies cannot become widely popular and is essentially accessible and convenient only to those individuals who have property which can be
realized.