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Changing Russian economic education in the context of ideology


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Volchik V.V. (2026). Changing Russian economic education in the context of ideology. Terra Economicus 24(3), 6–19. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-6-19

Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the grant of Russian Science Foundation № 24-18-00665, https://rscf.ru/en/project/24-18-00665/ “Ideological landscape of Russian economic science” at Southern Federal University.
This article examines the issue of ideological influence on economic education through the lens of the discourse of Russian economists. The formation of a specific mindset has become a key factor in how ideology influences economic science. Within the economic mainstream, ideological influence is denied based on the premise of separating ideology from “true science”. The influence of the mainstream’s latent ideology is most clearly manifested in economic education through the content of curricula and core textbooks. The study utilizes empirical data from transcripts of 35 in-depth interviews conducted in 2025 and three focus groups held in 2026, all involving Russian academic economists. Reflexive thematic analysis is employed as the data analysis method. The research identified five themes: ideology and scientific knowledge; rethinking the role of the state; the importance of sovereignty and patriotism; shifting from economic growth to well-being and social justice; and moving from the orthodox mainstream toward interdisciplinarity and analytical institutionalism. These themes reflect the impact of ideology on developments in economic science within the context of potential reforms related to Russian economic education. Revitalizing Russian economic education is possible through a deeper study of the history of economic thought and by explicitly addressing issues related to sovereignty and the institutional specificities of the Russian economic order. Formulating a constructive ideological agenda for Russian economic science appears feasible through a creative combination of various ideal ideological types, methodological pluralism, and interdisciplinarity. Russian analytical institutionalism has the potential to become a significant unifying movement within domestic economic science and education, as it reflects those domestic theoretical and methodological developments that are most relevant to addressing contemporary economic problems.

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Technological sovereignty: Approaches to understanding and measuring


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Komarova I.P., Ermolaev S.A. (2026). Technological sovereignty: Approaches to understanding and measuring. Terra Economicus 24(3), 20–35. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-20-35

Acknowledgment: This article was prepared within the framework of research project № FSSW-2026-0003 «Methodology for assessing the level of technological sovereignty and developing a concept for the dynamic stability of the Russian Economy», funded by a federal budget subsidy under the state assignment of The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
This article examines the concept of technological sovereignty as one of the key categories determining state development strategies in the face of geopolitical shocks and sanctions pressure. Based on a review of various theoretical approaches, the authors propose a decomposition of the concept into five components: possession of critical technologies, leadership in new general-purpose technologies, independence from imports, independence in supply chains, and dynamic stability. Each component is described using country examples (USA, China, EU, Russia) and existing approaches to quantitative assessment. The authors compose a two-tiered architecture of technological sovereignty: the minor contour, formed by possession of critical technologies, independence in supply chains, and dynamic stability, captures the necessary conditions for sovereignty; the major contour, complemented by independence from imports and leadership in general-purpose technologies, describes absolute technological sovereignty. For an integrated assessment, the authors propose to use the Leontief function for absolute complements, according to which the final value is determined by the minimum of the components. This leads to a practical conclusion for industrial policy: the development of critical technologies and domestic value chains should be the priority for state support, while broad import substitution and accelerated financing of domestic general-purpose technologies are not primary objectives.

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External factors of Russia’s economic development: Unequal exchange in the post-Soviet space


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Komolov O.O. (2026). External factors of Russia’s economic development: Unequal exchange in the post-Soviet space. Terra Economicus 24(3), 36–49. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-36-49

The paper looks at unequal exchange in today’s world economy. It also examines how Russia fits into center-periphery ties across the post-Soviet area. The author relies on several frameworks. These include the “New Interpretation” of the labor theory of value. Structuralist thinking is also used. The work also draws from the world-systems approach. In the paper’s main claim, Russia plays two roles at once. It can be seen as the core in the post-Soviet region. At the same time, it is still shaped as a periphery when compared with Western Europe’s industrial economies. The study argues that Russia keeps lopsided links with nearby states. It also uses advantages tied to rent. Those advantages affect how value is spread and how goods are consumed inside the post-Soviet space. The comparison is made across the post-Soviet period. To do this, the author uses Eora data from the Global Supply Chain Database. The analysis also uses the Exchange Rate Deviation Index, or ERDI. The method follows purchasing power parity ideas. The results support the key hypothesis about Russia’s twofold position. The study finds a dual pattern in the Russian economy. It also describes Russia as semi peripheral in the current world order. The calculations suggest that the gap between losses and gains is getting larger over time. The imbalance grows inside the unequal exchange setup. The author reads this as stronger signs of Russia’s peripheral side. In the end, the paper warns about a risk. Russia could fall deeper into economic lag.

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The role of the transport infrastructure in integrating Russia’s fragmented economic space: History and modernity


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Levin S.N., Makarova I.V. (2026). The role of the transport structure in the integration of Russia’s fragmented economic space: History and modernity. Terra Economicus 24(3), 50–68. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-50-68

The article examines the role of transport infrastructure in the integration of the fragmented economic space of Russia in the imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet periods of the country’s development. This role is considered in the context of a comparative analysis of the general characteristics and specific features of the imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet stages of the economy and society modernization in Russia. The central actor in these processes was the successive “ruling groups” represented by the tsarist autocracy implementing a “conservative” modernization project; the Communist Party, which initiated a “socialist” project; and the post-Soviet ruling group striving to find a balance between the ideas of market reforms and the integration of Russia’s political and economic space as an “imperial” type system. The research methodology is based on the consideration of the economy as a political-economic system. Approaches and models of world-system analysis, and new institutional economic theory represented by the concept of discrete structural alternatives are integrated to conduct research. It is shown that the process of Russia’s integration as a world-empire into the global world-economy objectively acquired a sectoral character, which reproduced the fragmentation of its economic space. The Russian state is taking on the functions of integrating the country’s fragmented economic space. Transport infrastructure plays a special role among the tools the state uses. The ruling group acts as the orderer of institutional projects determining the choice of discrete structural alternatives for the organization of transport infrastructure. When choosing the configuration of institutions, it seeks optimal variants for using transport infrastructure as a tool for achieving three goals at once, i.e. integration of the fragmented economic space and strengthening the country’s position in the global world-economy while ensuring an acceptable level of its commercial efficiency.

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Russians’ subjective well-being: Barriers and contours of social agency


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Sushko P. (2026). Russians’ subjective well-being: Barriers and contours of social agency. Terra Economicus 24(3), 69–87. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-69-87

Based on empirical data from the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS (October 2025, N = 2000), this paper investigates the specifics of Russians’ subjective well-being in relation to the manifestations and barriers of individual social agency. Applying the authors’ Subjective Well-Being Index (SWB Index) based on respondents’ evaluations of 16 life domains, the research delineates five groups ranging from subjective ill-being to social success. An analysis of the interconnections among intragroup structures, socio-demographic profiles, the realization of life goals, and prevalent everyday problems allows for the conceptualization of a hierarchical model of social agency. This model develops sequentially from basic integration into the micro-social environment toward the autonomous construction of a life trajectory. The findings demonstrate that as the SWB Index increases, the spectrum of positive assessments expands consistently from primary social capital, including family and close relations, to material, professional, and recreational opportunities. This structural pattern correlates with an increase in the number of realized goals over the past three years and a corresponding extension of planning horizons among the most well-off groups. Furthermore, the research reveals a qualitative shift in the nature of life barriers, where the multiple problems restricting the least well-off groups are gradually replaced by time deficits and a high intensity of goal realization as subjective well-being improves. Consequently, social recognition within primary networks may function as the universal foundation of social agency, while the stabilization of the material situation provides basic control over external circumstances and facilitates situational adaptation. Against this background, the predominance of positive assessments regarding access to non-material resources indicates an individual’s transition to a proactive form of social agency, enabling them not merely to adapt to a changing reality but to actively transform it in accordance with their goals. Ultimately, the identified empirical patterns reflect the complex hierarchical nature of social agency, setting a conceptual vector for the operationalization of a multilevel explanatory model in future research.

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Multipolar management in Russian universities


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Rybachuk M.A., Kobylko A.A. (2026). Multipolar management in Russian universities. Terra Economicus 24(3), 88–104. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-88-104

Acknowledgment: The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project № 24-18-00948). https://rscf. ru/project/24-18-00948/
In the context of a profound transformation of the Russian higher education system, driven by both internal challenges and external factors – digitalization, sanctions pressure, shifting government policy, and a rethinking of the role of the university in society as a whole – the need to find new approaches to university management is growing. Traditional corporate management models, focused primarily on operational efficiency and external rankings, are proving insufficient to ensure the long-term sustainable development of universities. This article proposes a framework for diagnosing and optimizing university management structures based on the concept of multipolar management. According to this approach, organizational management is built on the interaction of four social poles – inspirational, spiritual, cultural, and intellectual – each led by a corresponding social leader and aligned with a specific university subsystem (object, environment, process, or project). Based on a content analysis of the strategic documents of twenty leading Russian universities (the top 10 according to RAEX and 10 federal universities), dominant poles were identified, a typology of universities was defined, and imbalances in their governance structures were analyzed. Specifically, stable patterns reflecting the differentiation of higher education by mission, profile, and territorial role were identified: inspirational-humanitarian, cultural-technical, intellectual-research, and values-regional. Based on the data obtained, recommendations were proposed for developing a balanced multipolar university governance structure, taking into account the institution’s profile and mission. The article also outlines prospects for creating a cartographic model of the Russian higher education system – a model that could serve as a basis for determining the optimal number of universities both in a specific region and at the national level.

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Bureaucracy and growth: Evidence from Russian regions


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Borshchevskiy G.A. (2026). Bureaucracy and growth: Evidence from Russian regions. Terra Economicus 24(3), 105–122. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-105-122

This article proposes a model for assessing the economic impact of state bureaucracy at the regional level. We examine elements of the bureaucracy’s production function, such as staffing and compensation of public servants (federal civil servants of territorial divisions of federal executive bodies, and civil servants of state authorities of the regions of the Russian Federation, and municipal employees of local governments) across all regions for the period from 2007 to 2022. Average wages in the economy with public servants salaries fluctuate cyclically and consistently. Wages in the public service have converged with the national average over time. The number of regions where public servants’ salaries are below the regional average has increased, indicating a decline in the competitiveness of the public service in labor markets. The share of public servants does not exceed 3 per cent of the total employed in the economy. The total number of public servants has decreased by 24 per cent over 15 years. A decrease in average staffing has been noted at all three levels of public administration. The relationship between public servant salaries and per capita GRP was assessed using a panel regression with fixed effects. Increases in public servant salaries have a positive impact on per capita GRP, especially in the recent period. Spatial effects are unevenly distributed. From a New Public Management perspective, it is concluded that Russian bureaucracy at the regional level is a factor in economic growth, producing more public goods while employing fewer factors. The increase in bureaucratic productivity against the backdrop of an increase in per capita GRP suggests some increase in the effectiveness of the bureaucracy during the period under study.

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Ensuring technological sovereignty: Normative and expert discourse


TERRA ECONOMICUS, Vol. 24, No 3

Citation: Buzulukova E.V., Kapoguzov E.A., Sheresheva M.Yu. (2026). Ensuring technological sovereignty: Normative and expert discourse. Terra Economicus 24(3), 123–141. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2026-24-3-123-141

Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the grant of Russian Science Foundation № 25-18-00075, https://rscf.ru/project/25-18-00075/
The paper examines the specifics of the discourse on technological sovereignty (TS) in Russia, both officially normative (based on statements by members of the Government of the Russian Federation responsible for implementing related policies) and expert. Based on expert interviews, the key narratives of the essence of the TS and the mechanisms for ensuring it are identified, in particular, the tools for TS achieving from the point of view of the state are systematized and their effectiveness is assessed from the experts’ point of view. The gap in the chain of support institutions – science – industry is shown. The method is a comparative analysis of the positions of members of the Russian government, academic and business experts regarding the tools and mechanisms for ensuring TS, and existing problems and opportunities for cooperation with the BRICS countries. Based on semantic analysis, we revealed the position of experts regarding the dilemma of “the autarky vs cooperation”. Key problems identified are: the gap between science and industry, insufficient thoughtfulness of the TS support strategy, lack of trust between business, science and the state, the short-term orientation of business, and the resulting impossibility to implement complex and risky projects. The results of the study may help in developing further recommendations for improving the TS ensuring policy.

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