Content №1 от 2024
Russian Academy of Sciences and the Study of Siberia’s Economy: From Describing and Understanding to Projecting Development in Changing Conditions
The article aims to review and analyze the predominant trends in studying Siberia’s economy over the 300-year history of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). It demonstrates that the examination of socio-economic processes in this vast region, both in terms of topics and orientation, has been significantly influenced by pivotal factors. These include the macroregion’s role in addressing national development issues and the extent of state involvement in establishing a framework of strategies, measures, and actions to foster favorable conditions for economic activities and population welfare.
A notable aspect of RAS’s endeavors has been its consideration of the diverse natural and cultural-historical conditions shaping socio-economic processes in Siberia. Through a blend of extensive applied and field research alongside fundamental (system-wide) studies, the Academy has developed approaches to charting long-term socio-economic trajectories. In certain instances, these approaches have foreshadowed the paradigm of sustainable environmental, social, and economic development.
However, the implementation of solutions and approaches in the socio-economic sphere proposed by RAS researchers has encountered challenges. The persistence of a sectoral (formerly departmental, now corporate) basic principle has hindered the subsequent execution of their findings. The practical denial of effective forms of horizontal coordination at the regional/interregional levels for implementing socio-economic development projects has been (and still is) the primary cause of the weak and insufficient application of the generalizations, conclusions, and proposals put forth by RAS staff.
