Methods of researching innovative activity in the Volga federal district's regions

The paper discusses the features of innovative development of the regions of the Volga Federal District. It considers the possibility of using methods of multivariate statistics in the study of innovative activities in the regions. Basing on the cluster analysis, a typology of the regions of the Volga Federal District according to their innovative activity is presented. Description of the singled out types of the regions of the Volga Federal District according to the level of innovative activity is given. The factors characterizing the uneven level of innovative activity are revealed.