The model of economic development chosen by Russia during its transition to a market economy, which was oriented toward the interests of big capital (viewing the country's territories merely as a set of labor, raw material, and other costs to be minimized), has led to significant structural imbalances and has largely exhausted its potential. The events of 2022 and the subsequent sanctions from Western countries have significantly exacerbated the problem of modernizing the Russian economy, enhancing its resilience and competitiveness. The issues of ensuring sustainable economic dynamics and achieving technological leadership are becoming increasingly urgent on the agenda. Addressing these strategic tasks for the country requires appropriate decisions to be made at the regional level as well. This primarily concerns the selection of strategic priorities, the implementation of which will enable the accelerated development of the regional economy and, on this basis, significantly improve the quality of life for the population.
The monographic study conducted by the team of authors (S.Yu. Glazyev, V.A. Ilyin, A.A. Shabunova, T.V. Uskova, E.V. Lukin, N.M. Rumyantsev, D.A. Mityaev, S.P. Tkachuk), dedicated to identifying and substantiating the structural and technological drivers for the strategic development of the Vologda Oblast, has yielded a number of fundamental conclusions.
Firstly, within the framework of strategic goal-setting, it is necessary to form a "vision of the future," for which the region must achieve accelerated economic growth rates and advanced standards in production, ecology, and the social sphere in a phased manner. The strategy for the long-term socio-economic development of the region should be developed taking into account trends and processes in the global and national economies (the main ones being the formation of new technological and world economic orders and the penetration of technological innovations into production), building upon the existing socio-economic potential of the territory.
Secondly, the analysis of structural changes in the region's economy during the post-Soviet period, conducted in the study, convincingly demonstrates the need to transform the production structure by renewing capital, adopting new technologies, and increasing the number of processing stages and production phases for final goods. Therefore, implementing a strategy aimed at making the economy more complex in multiple dimensions, actively seeking out promising market niches, and developing them in a staggered manner will foster the production of final and investment goods in the region, expand domestic demand for domestic science and technology, positively impact the incomes of businesses, the state budget, and the population, and serve as a driver for territorial development.
Thirdly, the underinvestment in the region's economy and social sphere not only creates gaps and imbalances but also generates a demand for an investment leap, which needs to be filled with projects of advanced scientific, technological, environmental, and social standards. The development of high technologies in the region's promising cross-industry complexes should become a strategic priority for economic development.
Fourthly, a multi-criteria selection of industries, based on an assessment of their economic efficiency, market potential, innovative activity, and patent coverage, allowed the authors to identify and scientifically substantiate the contours of the prospective economic specialization of the Vologda Region and the potential of industries for completing value chains. The core activities for shaping the region's future economic specialization and further developing productions of the fifth and sixth technological orders could be ferrous metallurgy, the chemical industry, machine building, the timber and agro-industrial complexes, and tourism.
The implementation of the strategic priorities proposed in the work will not only modernize the economy of the Vologda Region and successfully address the task of improving the population's quality of life but will also make a significant contribution to achieving Russia's national goals and strengthening its competitiveness and security.
The authors believe that the methodological approach used to substantiate the structural and technological drivers for the development of the Vologda Region will be in demand by other federal subjects when determining their strategic priorities. The book is intended for public administration bodies involved in regional economic development, researchers, educators, university students, postgraduates, and a wide range of readers interested in the structural and technological transformation of the economy.