MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. The most difficult period of the crisis, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, is just beginning in Russia, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation Arkady Dvorkovich said on Tuesday. According to him, small and medium-sized businesses will have the most difficult time.

"Optimists believe that we are already somewhere at the bottom, and Europe has already begun to overcome the crisis. I think we have not yet reached the bottom, especially in Russia we are only entering the most difficult period of the crisis. Of course, this to a greater extent concerns small and medium-sized businesses - all their problems are still ahead. They will come only by the end of summer, fall, maybe by the end of the year," Dvorkovich said.

He added that the last two or three months, small and medium-sized businesses simply waited and expected the best, now such companies will gradually begin to close, and a series of considerable problems will gradually begin. At the same time, large companies, according to Dvorkovich, will gradually increase production by the end of summer - early fall, but they will still be very far from pre-crisis levels.

"It means that the problems are not decreasing, they will just become a little less noticeable at the moment. However, big problems will accumulate, and, therefore, the crisis will not go away. Unfortunately, in many industries this means that individual players will leave the market, the most successful will further consolidate and survive," Dvorkovich said. According to him, the government is doing a lot to support business, but inevitably there will have to be priorities.