Cluster policy as a part of the development strategy for a region

The article is devoted to studying the main features of Russia’s cluster policy, comparing it with the policies of a number of other countries, determining the effect of this policy on Russian enterprises and formulating recommendations for improving the situation. A comparison of the main features of the cluster policy of several countries suggests that more domestic approaches are similar to the characteristics of the Czech Republic and Poland, although in Russia this policy was launched later than in other European countries and domestic activities are not financed from external sources. Unlike the US in Russia, cluster policy is mainly carried out “from the top down”, and is not a response to enterprise initiatives. In Russia, also typical for other countries are measures of cluster policy, in particular, on the promotion of start-ups, the development of human capital, the improvement of innovative culture, the creation and development of communication channels. At the same time, the regression analysis showed that the fact that it operates in a state-supported cluster does not have any significant impact on enterprises. From this in the end, conclusions are drawn that the existing cluster policy needs to be adjusted, in particular, in a deeper connection to the strategic goals of the region’s development and taking into account the specific characteristics of clusters working on the territory, especially the stages of their life cycles.