Integrating Russia into the Global Project of Digital Transformation: Opportunities, Problems and Risks

Can the worldwide development of the digital economy relaunch global economic growth? What is really ensured the projected high growth rates of digital economy made by international institutions? Will the program for the development of the digital economy in the Russian Federation be able to stimulate the competitiveness of Russia’s economy? Firstly, this article seeks to answer if high expectations placed on digital economy are equal to its real impact on the global economic growth in the long-term. It appears that despite widespread declarations the development of the digital economy is not a sustainable path for engendering rapid growth of the world economy rather an attempt to consolidate asserts globally for building a fundamentally new digital infrastructure based on microelectronic and software products on a worldwide scale and create numerous new mass markets for ICT and microelectronics TNC. Given that the authors show that at the global level, in fact two different models of the digital economy development are implemented: one for developed countries and the other for developing ones. The digital transformation model offered by international institutions to developing countries might lead to the loss of technological sovereignty and consolidation of the long-term status of “technological periphery.” Based on this analysis the authors consider Russian digital economy development program, which ignores several extremely important aspects of the implementation of international projects of digital transformation. The measures outlined in the program may not fully meet the stated goals, at least in terms of maintaining technological independence.