Formation of the regional policy of innovative industrial clusters development in St. Petersburg

The successful formation of innovation clusters is associated with the developmentof demand factors for relevant products, improving the investment climate andthe infrastructure of the region. Since small business plays a leading role in thecluster’s creation and development, the task of effective public policy in the fieldof clusters is to provide a favorable regional environment for small and medium-sized businesses. The assessment of the regional environment for small andmedium enterprises formed during the last years in St. Petersburg is presented. Theconditions of doing business in this and some other Russian cities are compared.With due regard for the direct connection of the innovation activity in a countrywith the level of the economic freedom, and for extremely low effectiveness of theRussian scientific capacity realization, the authors conclude that there is an urgentneed for radical structural reforms.