Home – Home – Jornals – Region: Economics and Sociology 2026 number 2

Russia’s national projects are having an increasingly significant impact on the country’s socio-economic development each year. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of national projects, grouped by region and based on indicators of their implementation, to changes in the socio-economic development at the regional level, and to identify the gap between leaders and laggards in development. The novelty of this study lies in the attempt to assess the contribution of national projects to the socio-economic development from a regional perspective. It is shown that national projects are a relatively new but effective method for stimulating the socio-economic development of regions. The positive impact of national projects is noted, which consists in the formation of a more favorable economic environment in the regions according to specific indicators, such as, for example, gross regional product. One of the key factors slowing down the socio-economic development of regions is population decline, which the national projects included in the “Human Capital" block are aimed at counteracting.

There remains a pronounced interregional differentiation in the level of digital development across the Russian Federation, which necessitates a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing the digital maturity of public administration bodies in the country’s regions. This article offers a quantitative assessment of the impact of external socioeconomic, institutional, and technological factors on the level of digital maturity of government agencies in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as identifies statistically significant predictors based on panel data models. Within the framework of a PEST analysis, 38 macro-level factors potentially affecting digital maturity were examined, of which 17 measurable indicators were selected and grouped into categories: economic conditions of the region; public support and investment in the digital sphere; education and employment levels; innovation development; and the availability of IT infrastructure. A panel data set was compiled for 84 regions of the Russian Federation for the period 2021-2023, and fixed effects models were constructed. The analysis confirmed the statistical significance of such factors as gross regional product, budget expenditures, education level, innovation activity of organizations, number of employees in the ICT sector, and citizen satisfaction with digital platform solutions. The findings demonstrate that the digital maturity of regional public authorities is shaped by a complex set of external conditions, which should be taken into account when developing digital transformation strategies.

This study aims to identify groups of Russian regions by their level of sanctions risk prior to the imposition of sanctions and to test the actual exposure to sanctions of these groups after 2022. The application of k-means clustering allowed us to identify three clusters of regions based on their level of sanctions risk using 2021 data: regions with high, medium, and low sanctions risk. Data on the number of sanctions imposed on enterprises in the regions by the end of 2023 confirmed the validity of the cluster allocation. The average number of sanctions imposed by the end of 2023 on enterprises in regions belonging to the high-sanctions-risk cluster is 129. For the cluster of regions with medium sanctions risk, this figure is 28, and for the low-risk cluster, it is 4. It was found that reliable predictors of a high level of sanctions pressure are such indicators of the regional economy as the region’s engagement in trade with overseas countries and the share of the manufacturing industry in the gross regional product. At the same time, economic diversification does not always contribute to a lower risk of sanctions pressure.  The results of the study have high practical significance for regional economic policy.

Successful development of creative industries is impossible without active government support. At the regional level, support instruments can ensure maximum productivity based on local economic, cultural, and social characteristics. The objective of this study is to develop a methodological approach to assessing the productivity of creative industries support measures and subsequently testing it for cities in the Ural region. The study covered 102 cities in the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Oblast and Perm Krai. The research database is compiled from open registries of the Federal Tax Service and includes data on small and medium-sized enterprises classified as creative industries and support measures for them for 2019-2025. To assess the productivity of government support measures, the authors used an approach developed by the statistical and analytical method of comparative quartile analysis. This approach allowed to calculate the productivity of each measure, thereby characterizing the response of creative industries in cities to changes in the intensity of a particular support measure. Calculations showed that the productivity of all support measures in the regions under consideration is low and does not significantly impact creative industries development. Creative industries support measures were ranked in descending order of importance: consulting, financial support in the form of subsidies and grants, informational support, and property support. The obtained results allow to re-evaluate the existing measures for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the creative industries and make improvements based on local specificities that are crucial for the development of these industries in cities.

Against the backdrop of growing interest in and the increasing importance of the creative sector of the economy in regions with a high level of socio-economic development, located primarily in the European part of the country, the development potential of creative industries in the Far East has become a relevant topic of research. The objective of this study is to formulate pro- posals for the development of the creative sector of the economy, taking into account regional characteristics, based on a systematic analysis of issues in the field of creative industries within the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District. Based on data on job vacancies in the labor market within the creative industries, supplemented by microdata on aggregated revenue and profit and the average headcount of employees at creative enterprises, and taking into account the level of the Russian Regional Index of Creative Industries, a quantitative analysis is conducted of the development potential of creative industries in the regions of the Far East, as well as a qualitative analysis of the relevance and demand for creative professions and employer requirements. The qualitative analysis is supported by an in-depth comparative analysis of the regions, taking into account their institutional, infrastructural, and cultural characteristics, and an interpretation of the identified patterns is provided. The study drew on data from the RosNavyk platform regardingjob openings by region, as well as financial reports from companies in the SPARK-Interfax information and analytical system. The study’s findings indicate that constraints on the development of creative industries are linked to a shortage of skilled personnel, insufficient educational attainment, and remoteness from Russia’s central regions. Overcoming these constraints is seen in the development of the export potential of creative companies, the formation of creative specialization, the development of creative education, and support for joint projects between the Arctic and Far East regions to achieve a synergistic effect. The results of the study contribute to an understanding of the challenges facing the development of creative industries and identify the conditions for their successful operation in today’s reality.

In the context of implementing Federal Law No. 330-FZ “On the Development of Creative Industries in the Russian Federation ", informal institutions, primarily professional and thematic communities, are acquiring special significance in the formation of social capital as a resource for regional development. This study aims to identify the role and functions of such communities as institutions for the creation, mobilization, and conversion of social capital in the creative industries. The study empirically documents, for the first time, self-reported changes in key components of social capital (trust, networking, access to resources, emotional support) resulting from participation in communities. Based on an online survey of 132 participants in the “PR-sreda" professional community and the thematic club “‘Women’s Territory" in the Krasnoyarsk Krai, it was found that the most pronounced effects are seen in the expansion of professional connections (+90.2%) and increased confidence in the ability to mobilize social resources through the use of other participants’ contacts (+87.9%); an increase in trust (+48.5%) was also recorded. The results confirm that communities act not only as repositories but also as generative institutions of social capital, fulfilling both instrumental (networking, knowledge) and expressive (support, inclusion) functions, which makes them a strategically important asset for the development of the creative economy at the regional level.

In modern conditions, the level ofpoverty has become one of the key factors in the social well-being of the population and determines the effectiveness of state social policy in general. Using the example of the Volga Federal District, the article examines the main problems and trends in the formation of poverty among the working population in the regions of the Russian Federation and justifies the use of agent-based modeling tools for forecasting the dynamics of poverty levels. The article also discusses the structure of the data used and the logic of building a special agent-based model. As part of the testing of the developed model, the results of experiments on assessing the dynamics of poverty levels in the regions of the Volga Federal District for the period up to 2030 are presented, based on various scenario options. Based on the conducted experimental studies, a general assessment of the dynamics of poverty levels in the regions of the Volga Federal District is provided, and the regions are grouped according to their poverty levels. The necessary management measures are justified to reduce poverty levels for each group, including for the regions at highest risk.

The article assesses fertility trends in Russia’s northern regions in the context ofpro-family demographic policies in the first quarter of the 21st century. The official data of Rosstat and the legal documents in the field of the demographic policy makes the information base. The trends of birth rates in the northern federal constituent entities are generally similar to those in the Russian Federation, but the level is above the national average in most of them. The Republic of Tyva and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are particularly marked, with the significant percentage in their population of the indigenous ethnic groups with an incomplete transition to the reduced lifetime fertility. As in the whole country, in the north fertility is higher in the rural areas. Particularly significant differences were observed within the period of 2012-2017 due to the very high total rural birth rates resulting from the implementation of the regional maternal capital programs for the third child and the introduction of a monthly allowance for the third and subsequent child in the families with the low income. The most significant differentiation between urban and rural areas is typicalfor the Republics of Tyva, Komi and Karelia, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Arkhangelsk Oblast. Strengthening of the federal demographic policy by the regional measures has prolonged in the first half of the 2010s the trend of increase in the birth rate already in the context of deterioration of the age structure of the childbearing contingents and has contributed to the increase in the birth rate due to the change in the calendar of births, better fulfilment of the population’s reproductive expectations and improved fertility rates. However, the early exhaustion in the first years of the demographic policy of the final fertility of women, especially the rural ones, reinforced the structural factor of the birth rate decline within the period of 2016-2023, and it is likely to slow down the upcoming structural increase in the coming years. Under these conditions, the further activation of the state assistance to families with children is required.

Using a resource-based approach and the focus group method, the author of this article attempts to identify the attitudes of working youth in a modern mono-industrial city toward volunteering. The study lists the reasons for the non-participation of modern young workers in volunteer activities: “no time, " “didn’t like my first experience with volunteering," “incompetent management/employer, " “event organizers change their plans too often," “lack of financial compensation," “inability to communicate /fear of public speaking," “I know I won’t be able to balance it with work," “no desire to do this." The following have been identified as the main barriers to fostering a culture of volunteerism among young workers: a lack of awareness among young workers regarding government support programs offered by employers; limited awareness among young workers of the activities of civic organizations in the city to which they could offer their assistance as volunteers; the absence or underdevelopment of corporate volunteer practices; young workers’ distrust of the government regarding the excessive formalization of volunteer practices; and the lack of project support at the city/municipal level. The data obtained in the course of this study can be used by regional and local government bodies to more effectively address issues related to the development of urban culture in single-industry cities.

The article proposes to supplement the transport strategy of Russia with elements of the evidence base of some strategically important transport projects. An excursion into the history of Russia’s advance into Siberia at different stages of its development shows how important reliable transport communications are. As a tool for calculations, it is proposed to use the Optimization Intersectoral Interregional Model (OIMM) in conjunction with the PROgnosis of the System of Transport Industries of Russia (PROSTOR) model. The project of completing the new Vanino-Indiga latitudinal transport corridor is being discussed. The significance of this project is increasing significantly due to the geopolitical changes in Russia’s position on the Eurasian continent. This can be demonstrated using the OIMM’s multi-variant solutions with different hypotheses about the possibilities of entering global markets. At the same time, PROSTOR allows us to assess the range of changes in transport costs. It is important not only to advance towards the Arctic coast, but also to strengthen social control over the vast, resource-rich, but still sparsely populated territory of Siberia and the North-West of the Russian Federation.

Russia and Asian countries is growing rapidly, with trade in services playing a significant role. The aim of this study is to analyze the shift of Russian service exports toward the East, using Russia’s Asian regions as an example, and to identify avenues for increasing these exports through the development of the GEP. A comparative analysis was conducted of the volume and structure of service exports from Russia’s federal districts, particularly the Ural, Siberian, and Far Eastern districts, ranked by individual regions and types of services, which revealed the presence of a general eastward trend and regional specificities in its growth. The representation of BEP countries in the service exports of the analyzed regions was assessed. The analysis showed that service exports are importantfor the development of Russia’s trade and economic cooperation with BEP countries, which confirmed the study’s hypothesis. Regions are establishing footholds for this growth. Directions for promoting service exports to BEP countries have been substantiated, based on Russia’s participation in international megaprojects within the BEP framework in the areas of transport and energy, industry and innovation, culture and tourism, and marketing and digital infrastructure.

The large-scale restrictions imposed by Western countries on trade with Russia have not achieved their publicly declared goals of inflicting devastating damage on the domestic economy. Nevertheless, the sectoral effects of sanctions pressure are diverse and require comprehensive study. The purpose of this study is to assess the losses incurred by the Russian forestry industry, which has been forced to abandon convenient and highly profitable export markets. The task is solved for enterprises in the timber harvesting and sawmill industries in the regions of Asian Russia. Unlike most studies that use macroeconomic statistics, this analysis is based on a specially formed knowledge base of 312 of the largest enterprises in the sector located in Siberia and the Far East. For the first time, a method of selecting companies has been proposed and implemented that is based not on their formally declared OKVED codes, but on previously unused open data from the territorial bodies of the Federal Forestry Agency, which allows for the highly reliable identification of legal entities actually engaged in relevant economic activities. It is shown that the economic situation of the analyzed companies significantly deteriorated in 2024 compared to 2021. Previously low business profitability has resulted in significant losses and sharply increased debt, which compensate for losses from low product prices and the inability to supply certain markets. The continuation of these conditions for trading in forest products and the Bank of Russia’s tight monetary policy could lead to a series of bankruptcies among companies in the industry.

The search for models of long-term territorial sustainability outside of orthodox economic theory necessitates a rethinking of the reproduction process at the municipal level and the development of alternative indicators of economic progress. The construct of “economic well-being" is considered as such an indicator; it represents an economically secure state of material and non-material provision in the territory of local self-government, formed on the basis of a sustainable, spatially inclusive, planned, individualized, and conscious reproductive process. The article aims to develop a methodology for studying the economic well-being of a municipality as a promising indicator for measuring economic progress at the municipal level and as a result of responsible development. This methodological approach to studying the economic well-being of a municipality proposes combining elements of two methodologies: the spatio-temporal and the ethical-philosophical. The use of the spatio-temporal methodology allows us to view a municipality as a space for the creation, use, and reproduction of the human life support system, the parameters of which provide a basis for classifying municipalities and accounting for spatial risks and favorable factors in the assessment of economic well-being. The contribution of the ethical-philosophical methodological approach to the methodology under development lies in emphasizing the subjectivity and autonomy of the municipality, which are expressed in the financial security of local self-government, the implementation of the principle of accountability in municipal governance, as well as in expanding citizens ’ opportunities to participate in shaping and sustaining the economic well-being of the local self-government territory.