Prospects of forming industrial clusters in the Russian regions

The article is devoted to the formation of clusters in the border regions of Russia. The urgency of the problems of creating regional clusters in the country is determined by the complexity of the economic situation in recent years related to sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation and the weak development of import substitution. The phenomenon of the cluster became being regarded as an important factor in the economic development of some territory only in the second half of the 20th century, although industrial clusters as interconnected economic activities of enterprises have been known since the time of handicraft. Earlier works related to the topic of clusters did not specifically mention what the term "border cluster" means. Based on the classical definition of the cluster of Michael Porter, the authors propose their own definition of a border cluster. The possibilities, conditions and algorithm for creating clusters in the region are determined. The article represents results of SWOT-analysis, allowing to identify the conditions and possibilities for the formation of border clusters with the involvement of enterprises of Russia and the border states. Clusters can be considered as one of the forms of international cooperation. The authors draw attention to the fact that the formation of border clusters contributes to the strengthening of Russian-European economic cooperation. The directions of participation of the border territories of Leningrad region with neighboring states are determined in the work. The authors analyze the conditions and opportunities for the formation and development of border clusters in Leningrad Region and socio-economic relations with border states, and based on it propose the directions for the formation of promising border clusters: hospitality, chemical, woodworking and metalworking industries.