5 September 2024
The creative economy has become a global trend, with
its share in the GDP of developed countries approaching 9%, while in Russia it
is 2.5–3%. In particular, in the Far East, due to a small domestic consumption
market and a shortage of personnel, this new economic trend is developing
slowly. There are also no clear legal definitions of the very concept of
creative industries. The solution to the problem may be the work on
self-determination of the regions of the district, the introduction of
educational programmes, and the creation of a register of personnel to help
promote and enter the Asian market. These were the conclusions reached by the
participants in the session ‘Creative Framework 2030: Development of Creative
Industries in the Far East’, which took place as part of the Eastern Economic
Forum.
KEY CONCLUSIONS
In
the Far East, indicators in the creative economy are still formal in nature
“We recently held the Creative Industries Forum in
Khabarovsk... And we had several sessions devoted to a big methodological,
mathematical dispute about how to count the creative economy. We have formal
indicators... I would not want to mislead anyone. To be honest, my opinion is
that today we probably do not yet have such a single accepted methodology in
the community or in the government. This discussion is still ongoing,” Elvira
Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of
the Far East and Arctic.
“There are no clearly defined boundaries as to what
should be considered a creative industry at all. Is creating a new aircraft
engine a creative industry or not? It seems to me, yes. The PD-14 engine is a
know-how, so it is a creative industry. Everything is actually relative here,” Dmitry
Makhonin, Governor of Perm Territory.
Architecture,
design and cinema have become the main areas of creative industries in the Far
Eastern Federal District
“We see a great demand, and many regions are prioritizing
architecture and design. This is largely due to the fact that we are now
actively engaged in masterplans. In other words, the market itself for creating
new objects and improving the territory has formed such an offer for those who
are involved in urban planning, landscaping, and design in terms of urban
development,” Elvira Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for
the Development of the Far East and Arctic.
“There are our strategic areas of development, which
are defined in the strategy of socio-economic development of the region. This
is design, cinema, animation, IT-technology, fashion, development of crafts in
terms of supporting small and medium-sized businesses mainly in rural areas,” Dmitry
Makhonin, Governor of Perm Territory.
The
Creative Industries Act will facilitate the provision of targeted support
“Our law [on creative industries, – Ed.] will
allow governors to provide targeted support. <...> We are creating
conditions for the rapid growth of a new sector of the economy,” Denis
Kravchenko, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal
Assembly of the Russian Federation on Economic Policy.
“When the law on creative industries was being
drafted, I asked for it to be more of a framework to leave room for people. The
worst thing we can do in the country’s creative industries today is to regulate
the process,” Aisen Nikolaev, Head of Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
“The law is more of a framework. It is conceptual in
nature. I believe that it is a novelty in Russian legislation. We have defined
a whole sphere of economy and defined creative economy, creative industries,
creative product, infrastructure for creative industries, which starts with
clusters and continues with centres and so on, distributed powers between the
federation and the regions, defined possible formats and measures of support,
including property support,” Denis Kravchenko, Deputy Chairman of the Committee
of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Economic
Policy.
PROBLEMS
Regions
lack information about their creative potential or underestimate it
“Regions are often shy and do not fulfil the potential
they possess. <...> A huge number of companies that left in 2022 formed
both jobs and projects for the creative class. The creative class is used to
working with big international brands, while Russian brands currently working
on import substitution do not yet know how to use the creative class to solve
their problems,” Ekaterina Cherkes-zade, Director of the Center for the
Development of Creative Economy, Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote
New Projects.
“The word ‘shy’ must leave the region, both at the
state and regional level. <...> We should be proud,” Mikhail Khomich,
Chief Managing Director, Chief Strategist, VEB.RF.
SOLUTIONS
Creating
conditions for education in the creative economy
“We are trying to launch educational programmes as
part of all activities in this area. There are separate programmes at the
Arctic Institute of Culture, and a branch of the VGIK in Khabarovsk is already
opening next year,” Elvira Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation
for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
“We must create conditions for creative people to
fulfil their potential on the territory of the Republic. To do this, of course,
we must train people, educate them. And this is exactly the task that no one
but the state will undertake. <...> We unite our North-Eastern University
[Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU), – Ed.] with the Arctic
Institute of Culture and Art, which we want to gradually transform into a
university of creative industries,” Aisen Nikolaev, Head of Sakha Republic
(Yakutia).
Bringing
Russian creative products to Asian markets
“Our key bet is exports and our cross-border location.
Here, the barriers to entry to Asia Pacific markets are an order of magnitude
lower than with real sector products. Our competitive advantage [is] the
existence of links historically formed in the Far East with the Asian market:
when there is an understanding of how the economy works, what cultural codes
our Asian neighbours have, that allows us to enter this environment,” Elvira
Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of
the Far East and Arctic.
* This is a translation of
material that was originally generated in Russian using artificial
intelligence.
For more information, visit the Roscongress
Information and Analytical System roscongress.org.