Russia’s Alternative Path: The Developmentalist State as a Counterweight to Deindustrialization

Abstract

The economic liberalization of the 1990s was marked by a significant decline in the industrial sector’s share of the Russian economy. While much scholarship has consequently focused on Russia’s growing dependence on raw material exports—potentially reinforcing this deindustrialization narrative—this article examines the countervailing effects of industrialization policies pursued over the past two decades. These policies emphasize export competitiveness and have been accompanied by a notable increase in productivity. Going beyond the recommendations of liberal orthodoxy, they also highlight the importance of the domestic market and the state’s role, underpinned by an import-substitution industrialization strategy in place since 2014. Notably, this industrial development strategy has persisted despite the country’s challenging international sanctions and may have played a key role in the country’s recent escape from the middle-income trap.

JEL Classification: O11, O57, F13