Knowledge and innovation dynamics of the Northwest Russia under geopolitical changes

Over the past 25 years, Russia has faced several economic and geopolitical challenges, including the 2008 global financial crisis, sanctions imposed in 2014, and the COVID-19 pandemic. To remain resilient in the face of these challenges, Russia needs to adopt a flexible development strategy and transition to a new path of development. This transition requires the development of new knowledge-intensive industries, expansion into promising markets, strengthening trade and economic partnerships, and achieving technological sovereignty. This study examines the innovation system in Northwest Russia and identifies factors that are critical for its sustainability and innovation security in the face of geopolitical instability. The study uses an integrated approach to trace the knowledge production and innovation process from research findings to the commercialization of new technologies. The study finds that there are strong correlations between innovation activity and R&D investment, patent activity, and the number of innovative organisations. The study also identifies three types of regional innovation systems in Northwest Russia: core, semi-periphery, and periphery. The nature of the regions’ involvement in R&D determines the dynamics and specialization of their publications and patents. The study also finds that there is a positive correlation between the volume of innovative products and quantitative factors in the functioning of subsystems involved in knowledge generation and innovation. Finally, the study examines the geography and structure of the international research network that the regions of Northwest Russia had formed by 2022. It shows that the geopolitical transformation requires a significant part of cooperation ties with unfriendly countries to be restructured.