Scientific innovative factors of development of industry of the regions of Russia and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemics on them: strategic aspects

Abstract

Saturation of the economic development with innovation makes it strategically sustainable and provides the opportunity for efficient long-term management of economic growth. The COVID pandemic has triggered the transformations of business models, the process of their digitalization and innovative changes. The article deals with the changes of indicators of scientific innovative development of Russia and its regions during the first year of pandemic (2020) in the context of general indicators of economic and industrial growth and implementation of strategic priorities of scientific innovative spatial and regional development of Russia, connected with support of sustainable innovation system development in the regions as well as in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The author points out that the pandemic has not become a crisis impulse for increasing the intensity of scientific studies but it has resulted in growing expenses on innovation in the regions – the largest scientific innovative centers of the country where the main potential of this area is concentrated. Reducing the number of publications during the pandemic is characteristic for Russia, which can be connected with decrease in the scientific activity in the country. At the same time in the USA and, even at a larger scale, in China, the intensity of scientific research has been growing. At the same time, the scientific potential of Russia is highly aggregated in the largest cities, primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the life standard is significantly higher than that of the regions. The share of the organizations of regional subordination directly involved in the problems of the regions is extremely small. The pandemic has reinforced the tendency of centralization of the resource support and the research and development activity, especially in Moscow. This has become a challenge for the implementation of the strategy of regional scientific innovative systems’ growth essential for successful spatial development of Russia.