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ECONOMIC RESEARCH

TITLE

Russia's Food Import Dependence: Transformation Under Sanctions and Price Risks to Living Standards
Aleftina A. Gulyugina

000

2.828 MB

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INDEX

RAR (Research Article Report)

JEL E21, E31, F14

https://doi.org/10.52180/1999-9836_2025_21_4_2_518_530

AUTHOR

Aleftina A. Gulyugina

Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5413-5272

SPIN-code: 8187-0889

RCSI Author ID: 305797

ResearcherID: H-2175-2018

FOR CITATION
Gulyugina A.A. Russia's Food Import Dependence: Transformation Under Sanctions and Price Risks to Living Standards.Uroven' Zhizni Naseleniya Regionov Rossii=Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia. 2025;21(4): 518-530. https://doi.org/10.52180/1999-9836_2025_21_4_2_518_530 (In Russ.)

Abstract

This article aims to analyze Russia's dependence on food imports for domestic consumption in the context of sanctions and factors creating price risks affecting living standards. The research methodology is based on the principles of Russian statistics and the Russian Federation's Food Security Doctrine. The primary sources of information include data from Rosstat, customs statistics, Rosselkhoznadzor, the Bank of Russia, and the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). This article examines changes in the study area since 2014 using the food import dependence indicator—a calculated indicator that determines the role of the global market in shaping a country's food resources. The level of import dependence for certain types of socially significant products was calculated using statistical balances of consumer goods. Calculations showed that it differs from the self-sufficiency indicator (an adjustable indicator of food security) in both level and dynamics. Various combinations of these dynamics are identified: a decrease in import dependence amidst rising self-sufficiency, an increase in the former indicator amidst a decline in the latter, and an increase in the former indicator amidst a rise in the latter. It is substantiated that assessing transformation processes based on aggregated product types is insufficient; a detailed approach to their broader composition is essential. The article demonstrates that, as a result of global problems in the global food market in recent years, a persistent risk factor for living standards has emerged due to the accelerated growth of global prices, as well as the appreciation of the US dollar. It was determined that core imported inflation, calculated based on the ruble equivalent of the imported product, influences consumer price indices in the food market, decreasing as import dependence declines. The study suggests including import dependence and imported inflation indicators in food security indicators, allowing for a more comprehensive assessment of its status and the areas that pose challenges to the population's standard of living.

Keywords

global food market, imported inflation, food import dependence, food independence, imported products, risks, standard of living, level of import dependence, level of self-sufficiency

AUTHOR BIOGRAFY

Aleftina A. Gulyugina

PhD in Economics, Senior Research Worker of the Department of Socioeconomic Research of Living Standards and Quality of Live at the Centre of Development of Human Potential at the RAS Institute of Economics, Moscow, Russia

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DISCUSSION FORUM

TITLE

Increasing Labour Productivity or a New Wave of Optimization in the Cultural Sphere?
Valentina Yu. Muzychuk

000

2.828 MB

Full text

INDEX

RAR (Research Article Report)

JEL Z11, J24

https://doi.org/10.52180/1999-9836_2025_21_4_1_502_517

AUTHOR

Valentina Yu. Muzychuk

Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9016-1531

SPIN-code: 4161-3862

Scopus Author ID: 57208688015

FOR CITATION

Valentina Yu. Muzychuk. Increasing Labour Productivity or a New Wave of Optimization in the Cultural Sphere?Uroven' Zhizni Naseleniya Regionov Rossii=Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia. 2025;21(4): 502-517. https://doi.org/10.52180/1999-9836_2025_21_4_1_502_517 (In Russ.)

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the correctness of applying the labour productivity concept in social sector in general, and special in the cultural sector, as accepted in the national project «Efficient and Competitive Economy» (federal project «Labor Productivity») for 2025-2030. The article analyses the challenges associated with applying the labour productivity indicator "by output" to the cultural sector, particularly through the index defined in the national project as "increase in the number of visits per employee" for cultural institutions. The incorrect nature of this approach is revealed both through statistical data calculated for specific types of cultural activity (theatres, museums, public libraries, concert organizations), and through the inaccurate calculation methodology contained in ministry documents. Applying the concept of labour productivity, appropriate for industrial production and the commercial service sector, to social sector, particularly the cultural sector, distorts the non-commercial nature of cultural activity and underestimates the social significance of cultural goods. Increased labour productivity in cultural institutions is planned to be achieved through lean production concept, originally developed to reduce costs in mass-production enterprises. This also demonstrates the inadequacy of a unified approach to assessing performance in manufacturing production and socially significant sectors. A detailed examination of the federal project's methodology reveals a new wave of optimization in the cultural sector, where rhetoric about the need to increase labour productivity conceals another one reduction in the network and number of cultural employees, as well as the deprivation of cultural institutions' financial and economic independence.

Keywords

labour productivity, cultural sphere, optimization of the cultural sphere, cultural activities, employment in the cultural sphere, national project, lean production in the cultural sphere

AUTHOR BIOGRAFY

Valentina Yu. Muzychuk

Doctor of Economics, Associate Professor, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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* Yale University (USA) has been declared an undesirable organization in Russia.

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CHIEF EDITOR’S COLUMN

TITLE

Chief Editor's column
Vyacheslav N. Bobkov

2.828 MB

Full text

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EDI (Editorial article)

EDN OIZHJY

AUTHOR

Vyacheslav N. Bobkov

Editor-in-chief of the scientific and practical journal “Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia”, Moscow, Russia

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID : https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7364-5297

SPIN-code: 5639-0410

RSCI Author ID:275902

ReseacherID: U-6527-2019

Scopus Author ID: 55960509800

AUTHOR BIOGRAFY

Vyacheslav N. Bobkov

Doctor of Economics, Professor, Honoured Science Worker of the Russian Federation, Chief Research Worker, Head of the Department of Socioeconomic Research of Living Standards and Quality of Live at the Centre of Development of Human Potential at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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