The economic crisis in Russia: coordination of federal and regional measures of stabilization polices in conditions of economic space heterogeneity

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the nature and reasons for the 2004 economic crisis in Russia, the study of the effects of currency exchange dynamics on consumer price indices, and the assessment of factors of inflation on the Russian economy. It is proven that in conditions of heterogeneity of economic space, the depreciation of the ruble cases difference in the reaction of regional economic systems. Principles of coordinated action of federal centers and regions in implementation of stabilization processes are formulated, which allows for the consideration of regional differences in reactions to changes in macroeconomic indicators. The author considers that the Russian Federation is distinguished by considerable socioeconomic differentiation, and that the effects of currency exchange rates on the dynamic of regional-level consumer prices is in large part determined by regions’ dependence on foreign trade. To test this hypothesis, the author conducted classification of subjects of the Russian Federation by their level of dependence on foreign trade. To separate the sample into clusters, the Ward hierarchical clustering algorithm were applied with Euclidian squared distance metrics. The cluster analysis was carried out by the following parameters of difference by regional economies’ level of dependence on foreign trade: 1) foreign trade quota (the ratio of total export and export value, divided in half, to the GRP cost, in percent); 2) import quota (the ratio of import cost to the GRP cost, in percent); 3) the share of import from distant foreign countries in the overall volume of import, in percent.