Current problems of cooperation between Russian and Belarusian enterprises: region’s view

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former constituent republics began searching for various forms of partnership on mutually beneficial terms. This made it possible to establish the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a free trade zone. In addition, work was launched on the creation of integration projects in the socioeconomic sphere1.

Relations between Russia and Belarus began occupying a special place among the interactions in the CIS format. The most important event in the framework of strengthening bilateral partnership was the signing of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State (December 8, 1999)2. The main objectives of the creation of the Union State were to ensure democratic development, strengthen friendship, and improve the quality of life. Moreover, there is a need to create a single economic space based on the integration of the material and intellectual potentials of the participating countries3.

The development of scientific and industrial relations is becoming one of the most significant components of the strategic partnership between

Russia and the Republic of Belarus (RB). The basis for the formation of the common scientific and technological space of the Union State is the Union Programs (UP)4 (Vityaz, 2017).

The first UPs were developed more than twenty years ago. Regulated by a number of agreements between Russia and Belarus, they appeared even before the formation of the Union State as such5 (Vaganova, 2017; Dugova, 2017; Davydenko, Litvinyuk, 2022; Sotnikov, 2022). As relations developed within the framework of supranational formation, new programs were created (Shuru-bovich, 2019; Rauter et al., 2019). Since 2000, 57 programs of the Union State have been implemented to develop new technologies and create innovative products. In addition, in the fall of 2021, 28 UPs were published concerning the further deepening of integration processes6.

The issues and directions of economic integration of Russia and the Republic of Belarus are not limited to the Union Programs alone. Tatiana Runets, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic on Economy, Budget and Finance, noted: “Under the conditions of sanctions pressure, the key prerequisite for the integration of our countries is the expansion of industrial cooperation and the implementation of joint projects in the real sector of the economy. Trade cooperation is sometimes vulnerable, and joint business will make the integration process irreversible”7.

Along with the creation of the Union State, the most important instruments for strengthening integration processes that stimulate cooperation between Belarusian and Russian economic entities were the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union8. The development of integration processes in various formats has led to a significant increase in the volume of mutual trade, the indicators of which have more than tripled over the past 20 years. According to the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus (Belstat), the trade turnover of the two countries in 2021 increased by about 35% compared to the previous year. According to the results of 11 months of 2022, the historically maximum volume of mutual turnover of goods and services in the amount of 45 billion U.S. dollars has been reached9.

Against the background of changing geopolitical conditions, Russia and Belarus are joining efforts to resist the existing restrictions and are actively working to minimize their consequences. Bilateral projects are being implemented in the field of import substitution, ensuring the smooth operation of financial and commodity markets, and the formation of new production chains10.

Since enterprises and organizations are key actors in the framework of international economic cooperation, this study is aimed at identifying current problems and determining prospects arising in the course of cooperation between enterprises of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of tasks.

• 1.    To characterize the drivers, methods and instruments of foreign trade; to highlight the features of their implementation within the framework of bilateral cooperation between Russia and Belarus.

• 2.    To analyze the dynamics of statistical indicators characterizing trade and economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

• 3.    To develop tools to identify problems of interaction between Russian and Belarusian enterprises.

• 4.    To test the developed tools (using the example of the Vologda Oblast enterprises interacting with contractors from Belarus).

• 5.    To propose solutions to the identified problems, taking into account the positions of heads of enterprises.

The scientific novelty of the research consists in the development and testing of tools that allow identifying problems and prospects of bilateral cooperation between enterprises of Russia and the Republic of Belarus at the regional level. The practical significance lies in the fact that the results obtained (identified problems of bilateral cooperation and ways to solve them) can be useful not only to representatives of federal, regional and local authorities whose competence includes issues of international cooperation, but also to heads of enterprises that interact (or plan to start interacting) with partners within the framework of their activities from Belarus.