The peculiarities of business organizations in Russia associated with constant changes in the social environment (legislative, regulatory, fiscal and other conditions), increasing uncertainty, increased competition make crises almost a permanent element of management decision-making by heads of organizations. Anti-crisis management" emerged as a scientific direction in the early 80s of the 20th century. As M.A. Melnikov notes, crisis management is based on the research of the 60's in the study of behavior and decision-making systems and the study of the process of disaster management. At the end of the 20th century crisis management/management acquires the features of an academic discipline, the theoretical apparatus and the methodological core of the science develop. This process continues at the present time, when the author of one or another concept of crisis management emphasizes the author's vision of the causes, manifestations and the final crisis. This explains the multitude of definitions of crisis, author's technologies of crisis management. which determine the general idea of counteraction to events that threaten the existence of the organization.