The HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge has released its annual rating of the innovations development of Russia’s regions, topped by the republic of Tatarstan.
Russia's republic of Tatarstan, well known for its accommodating business climate, took first place in the rating. Photo: Pixabay.
The Russian Regional Innovative Development Ranking is compiled by the institute – part of the Higher School of Economics – based on social and economic conditions for innovative activity, science and tech potential, innovation activity and innovations policy in the regions.
Tatarstan knocked Moscow off the top spot in the rating for the first time since 2008. The Russian capital moved into second place, followed by St. Petersburg. The republic of Mordovia and the Kaluga region rounded out the top five, while the rest of the top 10 was made up by the Nizhny Novorogod and Tomsk regions, the Chuvash republic and the Khabarovsk and Penza regions.
Pekka Viljakainen, advisor to the president of the Skolkovo Foundation and the driving force behind the Startup Tour that scours Russian regions for promising tech startups, singled out the city of Kazan – capital of Tatarstan – as a success story in an interview with Sk.ru earlier this year.
“They are open for business and they are not afraid of foreigners. They might not love them but they want to do business with them,” he said, explaining the region’s success.
The least innovative regions of the 83 for which data was available were named as the Jewish Autonomous Region in the Far East, the North Caucasus republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya, the Nenets Autonomous Region and Kalmykia.
“Each region must find its smart specialization, its niche in the field of new technologies and their application in existing areas,” Leonid Gokhberg, director of the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge and first vice rector of HSE, said Wednesday, presenting the rating at a TASS press conference. Innovative projects should be focused on future markets and identify the outlook of the region’s economy, as well as the Russian economy in general, he said.
The Russian Regional Innovative Development Ranking has been compiled for the last four years. The latest report covers the results of 2013-2014.