Russia’s economic restructuring for the fast-changing future

Abstract

The future of the Russian economy depends on several major factors: national institutions for development, human capital, technological and financial resources, and external environment. As a country with long-term ambitions, Russia is prioritizing the prosperity of its citizens, strategic security, and reviving the arts and sciences. Russia’s economic restructuring is unique in its complexity following the triple transition in the early 1990s: from the USSR to the Russian Federation, from a planned economy and state property to a market economy and private property, and from the socialist ideology to democracy. As the continental superpower with a long history of domestic and international political rivalries and conflicts, Russia has struggled to reach the current level of development. The deconstruction of global governance, as it was structured following World War II, is causing concerns to Russian political elites. In the twenty-first century, the ability of the Russian economy to retain a prominent place in the world will depend on our human capital, territory, resources, political influence, arts, and sciences. Due to the modest size of the Russian GDP, Russia will have to adapt to the world with a bigger China, the USA, India, and the European Union. Russia will stay in a group of countries with similar GDP but very different levels of development, such as Brazil, Japan, Germany, and Indonesia.