Abstract: The article examines the development of entreprises as an economic basis of national security and as a basic element of economic capacity which maintains the economic security in Russia's regions, satisfying the needs of the population. The subject of the study includes the administrative and economic relations between the authorities and small businesses and its influence on economic security on the regional level. The aim of the study is an assessment of the status and analysis of measures to support small businesses, as well as to identify the real problems of small business development in Russia's regions. The main idea of the study is that the development of small businesses on the regional level affects the economic security of the region as well as of the whole Russia. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach. The authors use the methods of statistical data processing, economic analysis, induction, comparative analysis, experiment. The article identifies of the system drawbacks of small business in the Russian Federation: the inconsistency of government support measures developed by different agencies; the lack of a single governing body responsible for small businesses; the absence of a common information base to assess the effectiveness of the state support; a limited amount of financial support; the lack of motivation of entrepreneurs to improve their skills. The main conclusion of the authors is that the biggest problem of the development of small business in Russia is the population unwilling to create and participate in the development of their own business.