ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia—A businessman recently played colleagues here a short video to demonstrate what ails Russia’s economy: It showed masked police bursting into an office in Siberia wielding rifles and sledgehammers.
Russian companies routinely face harassment from law-enforcement officials seeking to extort money or expropriate businesses, according to business owners, lawyers and activists. One in six Russian business owners is facing criminal prosecution, according to Aleksandr Khurudzhi, who works for an agency the...