Concerning the role of the state in updating of Russian economy’s infrastructure

The issue of setting goals, boundaries and the extent of state’s involvement in the modernization of the infrastructure has been drawing attention of economists for a long period of time. As a result of the market economy building in the 1990-s the state has lost much of the infrastructure property and capital, therefore, in 20002004 the government tried to reinforce the state control by the formation of large integrated structures in key infrastructure projects and the expansion of state representation in existing companies. In consequence of corresponding measures the influence of global competition has been reduced, and the policy consisting in state support of significant infrastructure projects has been developing. One of the main activities in the field of infrastructure modernization is to find the optimal conformity between public and private initiatives, which by complementing and restraining each other ensure efficient updating of the infrastructure. A particular need for public participation occurs during the period of transition to a new, more progressive technological way, when the infrastructure is losing its attractiveness for the investment market. The role of the state in providing such technological developments is the formation of mass demand for new goods and services of the industries, such as manufacturing industry that is fast growing at the present time. The main source of funds in this case is the export of raw materials. The updating of infrastructure requires appropriate relationship between the main socio-economic subsystems: state, infrastructure, economy and society. The key function of the state in this process is management of state investments in public infrastructure. In addition, the state must remove the discrepancy between the infrastructure capabilities of the past and current technological structures by ensuring the integrity and balance of system interaction between large-scale modernization factors.