There are three types of business entity in Russia:[1] private limited companies (Russian: общества с ограниченной ответственностью, abbreviated OOO), joint-stock companies (акционерное общество, abbreviated ПАО; in English as JSC), which may either be public, open (OJSC) or private, closed (PJSC), and partnerships (товарищество).
Private companies (Russian: Общество с ограниченной ответственностью - ООО) are by far the most popular type of legal entity in Russia.
Private companies with annual income below 200 million Rubles and having no more than 130 employees are eligible for simplified taxation.
[contradictory] A closed joint-stock company (закрытое акционерное общество, abbreviated "CJSC" in English, "ЗАО" is Russian) is a legal entity whose shares are distributed among a limited number of shareholders – maximum 50.
Such JSCs are different from another type of state-controlled company, the unitary enterprise (a commercial organization that operates state-owned assets).
This is especially true in Russia where the abnormally excessive legal and bureaucratic challenges facing prospective entrepreneurs typically dissuade most from starting a JSC.