State Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as a Tool for Ensuring Russia’s Economic Security

The article examines state support for small and medium-sized enterprises as a tool for ensuring the economic security of the Russian Federation. The object of the study is the system of state support for SMEs in Russia, while the subject is its functions and limitations in terms of its impact on the stability of the economic system. The purpose of the study is to determine how existing SME support instruments are embedded in the implementation of economic security objectives and what limits their functional coverage. The methodological basis of the study includes structural-functional and comparative-analytical approaches, analysis of regulatory and strategic documents, comparison of the Russian model with selected foreign SME support practices, and the use of data on the scale, dynamics, and forms of support provided to SMEs in Russia. The scientific novelty of the study lies in identifying four functions of SME support within the framework of economic security – stabilizing, competitive, territorial, and adaptive – and in using this classification to assess the current support system. It is established that the Russian support system is focused to a greater extent on current stabilization objectives than on the development of a competitive environment, the reduction of interregional disparities, and the long-term adaptation of the sector. The study shows that the current model is large in scale but is characterized by an uneven internal configuration and the predominance of more universal forms of support. The directions for the functional adjustment of the SME support system are substantiated, aimed at a more consistent reduction of economic vulnerabilities and strengthening economic resilience. The results of the study may be used in analyzing the current SME support system and in developing directions for its improvement in the interests of economic security.