Young Сraft Entrepreneurs of Saint Petersburg about State Support Measures

Abstract

The article analyzes the attitudes of young craft entrepreneurs (artisans) towards government support measures for small businesses. The analysis is based on a series of qualitative interviews with artisans from St. Petersburg developing their businesses within the creative economy. The interviews were collected in 2021 and allowed to trace how the perception of government assistance changed in the pre-COVID and COVID periods. The authors prove that young entrepreneurs are focused on officially registering their business at a certain stage of its development for rational and ethical reasons. The key values in relations with the state are the value of autonomy and subjectivity, the avoidance of paternalism and the desire for comfort and clarity in bureaucratic procedures. COVID-19, on the one hand, has pushed young entrepreneurs to seek support from the state, on the other hand, the proposed government measures are of little demand and ineffective, since they do not meet the needs of entrepreneurs or “do not see” craftsmen as those in need.