The political economy of import substitution and Russian practice

The article analyzes the processes of import substitution in the high–tech segment of the economy of the Russian Federation - in the IT sphere. The purpose of the article is to explore the modern features of the Russian IT market of new trends. It is shown that import substitution can play an important role in stabilizing and balancing the market, which is confirmed by research by serious authors, including domestic ones, and the existing practice in the world – both developed and developing countries. The article shows that one of the directions of sanctions imposed by Western "partners" against the Russian Federation was the desire to undermine the domestic IT sector. For this purpose, in 2014–2023, almost all significant foreign actors left our country. However, the domestic IT market has shown growth 2 times higher than the global figure. This was facilitated by the general economic growth in the Russian Federation, the growth of state support for the industry, significant investments by domestic enterprises in the IT sector, as well as the need to ensure national technological sovereignty and general economic security. The author comes to the conclusion that the IT market in Russia has not only been preserved, but has also been further developed both in quantitative and qualitative parameters, which confirms, firstly, its resilience, and secondly, the presence in our country of technical, financial, qualification, scientific, innovative as well as infrastructural opportunities for its development. The policy and practice of import substitution played a crucial role in this.