Smart Specialization and Anti-Crisis Stability of Russian Regions

The concept of smart specialization was developed in response to the management crisis in the field of innovation development in European countries. It quickly gained popularity and was adopted by the governments of many countries, including those outside the EU. The idea of smart specialization was also enthusiastically embraced by the academic community, leading to an explosive growth in publications on the topic. However, many of these works have been devoted to detailed criticism, which primarily involves disputing the theoretical, practical significance, and novelty of the concept. The most acute line of criticism is based on the difficulty or even impossibility of assessing the effectiveness of implementing the smart specialization strategy. In the calculations carried out, the commitment of Russian regions to this concept was expressed through proxy parameters: the presence of the term itself in regional strategic documents, the quality of innovation policy, and the region's economic profile in terms of specialization/diversification. According to the results obtained, a highly ambiguous picture emerges in terms of the ability of regional economies to withstand crisis shocks and the relative level of compliance with the smart specialization doctrine. Thus, this concept, judging by the volume of accumulated critical remarks, can hardly be considered a universal tool for accelerating regional economic development. Moreover, it remains unclear to what extent the crisis resilience of individual regions ensures the economic security of the country as a whole.