Technological Restructuring of Economies of the Former Soviet Union: from “Destruction” to “Creation”

Abstract

Modern geo-economic and geopolitical processes create a need to rethink the integration interaction between the republics of the former USSR, now - sovereign countries. This is due not only to the rapidly increasing instability of the global financial system, the growth of trade and economic contradictions between countries, but also to the possibility of using the previous experience of inter-republican industrial-technological and intellectual cooperation to achieve the goals of economic development.Aim and tasks. The article’s main aim is to frame the technological and economic interaction between the former republics of the USSR in the new geo-economic and geopolitical conditions.Methods. The methods applied includes empirical and statistical analysis, the use of consistency, the principles of scientific discussion, dialectical methods of cognition, such as the unity of the historical and logical, the principles of induction and deduction, the principle of the linkage between qualitative and quantitative characteristics, the unity of analysis and synthesis.Results. The article highlights the features of the trajectory of the economic development of the former Soviet republics. The main problems associated with the transition to a “free market economy”, such as declining economies, population decrease, significant external debt, “Dutch disease” and deindustrialization of the economy, are identified.Conclusion. In conclusion the need to develop a new economic policy in the countries of the former USSR is argued from the standpoint of increased instability in the external economic environment and the need to strengthen their national economies, but also by the loss of economic independence and the accumulation of problems during the period of building a “market economy”. Significant efforts are required to restore the economy of the former republics of the USSR. The strategic direction is the reindustrialization of the economy, that is, the restoration of the lost economic potential on a new industrial and technological basis. For the successful implementation of the goal of strengthening economic sovereignty, it is of great importance to unite the scientific, intellectual and educational potential of the former republics of the USSR and create a common technological space. This will inevita bly lead to the formation o f a new system of international division of labor in the post-Soviet space, which is the main feature of a market economy.