Expert: Every tenth Russian lives in an outsider region

If we look at regional inequality from the point of view of the population, it turns out that every ninth Russian lives in the leading regions, which include Moscow, the Tyumen region and Sakhalin, said Natalya Zubarevich, professor at Moscow State University, director of the regional program of the Independent Institute for Social Policy.

Another 18% of the population, according to the expert, lives in relatively developed regions in terms of per capita GRP. “Taken together, it turns out that almost a third of the population lives in rich or relatively wealthy regions,” Zubarevich said. According to her, no matter who controls these regions, competitive advantages will always contribute to their development.

“Russia’s problem is what to do with the middle. Two-thirds of our population lives in regions where there are no obvious competitive advantages, where it is necessary to clear the rules of the game and improve institutions so that at least something will work out. As long as the institutional environment in Russia is what it is, there will be no breakthrough, ”the expert said.

In addition, approximately every tenth Russian lives in an outsider region. “The question is how to help, how to control the spending of funds so that they go to the reproduction of human capital, and not to the enrichment of the elite. But that’s another question. Support for underdeveloped regions is necessary, ”Zubarevich said.