The Innovative Potential of the Russian Economy

Author(s): Julian Cooper
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 88
Pages: 8-10
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2010

Since President Medvedev launched his modernization drive with his article, Forward Russia!, the topic of innovation has come to the forefront of Russian policy discussion and is now focused to a large extent on one specific project, the development of the Skolkovo innovation center. The goal of building this town of the future has to some extent served to draw attention away from the more general issue, the overall state of Russia's potential for research and innovation. The realization of a single project with the explicit goal of creating a favorable environment for the concentration of intellectual capital able to generate innovations is unlikely to have much impact on the innovation potential of the wider economy and society, as many have observed.1 This article provides an overview of the current state of the Russian research and development (R&D) system and its potential to foster innovation. It ends with some reflections on the modernization project and Skolkovo's role within it.

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