As Point of Corporate Law, What Types of Legal Entities Are Allowed
To Do Business in Russia?
* The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for various legal forms:
- general partnerships
- limited partnerships, additional (or unlimited) liability companies
- joint stock companies (“JSC” or the Russian abbreviation “AO”)
- limited liability companies (“LLC or the Russian abbreviation “OOO”) and others.
The most common commercial organizations are joint stock companies and limited liability companies. The Civil Code also provides for not-for-profit organizations of various types.
* Foreign companies conducting Russian business operations increasingly view a wholly owned Russian subsidiary as a quick and easy way of expanding their local businesses. For this reason, foreign companies tend to create subsidiary companies with charters that are broad in scope and require a minimum capital investment.
* In Russian, the legal entity’s form, which is usually abbreviated, precedes its name. Thus, for example, Russian firms will generally be known as AO “name” or “OOO” name.
Contact IFG to discover how to succeed in international franchising.