With the recession in Russia showing few signs of abating, commercial activity in Moscow is shrinking, highlighted by the level of vacancies in Moscow office space. 

A report published by international real estate giant, Knight Frank, showed that nearly one fifth of Moscow’s office space was vacant in the third quarter of 2015, a record in the city.

According to the study, of the 15.2 million square metres of office space in the country’s capital, 2.95 million was vacant in Q3 of this year.

This number is more alarming in that it is significantly higher than the previous financial crisis of 2008-09.

Class A office space has been affected far deeper than Class B, with 25.5% to 17% vacancy rates.

The volume of new office space added to the market this year has been lower than initial forecasts. However, nearly 500,000 square metres of space have still been added this year, with the final number predicted to be over 600,000.

Knight Frank initially predicted 1,000,000 square metres would be added to the stock in 2015.