Russian Regions Exceed Moscow in Some Forms of Support for Creative Class, New Survey Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 3 – The Russian regions have now passed the city of Moscow in some forms of support for the creative class, a new study by PwC and the Calvert 22 Foundation finds, a development that could help to promote the decentralization of intellectual life in the Russian Federation and ultimately the decentralization of the country more generally.

            The study, the latest in an annual audit leading to the formation of an Index of Creative Capital, assesses the situation in 20 cities of the Russian Federation. It is  intended to show how creative business and participants in the new economy feel about their status in each of them (rbc.ru/society/03/04/2019/5ca39eb49a79471e7d4f1015).

            The survey is based both on official data and on surveys of creative specialists, who were asked to comment on the specific features of the creative climate, the cultural and educational landscape, and institutional infrastructure.”  As such, it reflects the views of those surveyed and is more subjective than objective.

            Each of the 20 cities was rated in terms of five categories: people, city, the authorities, business and brands. Not surprisingly, when all five rankings were summed, Moscow led with 69.32 balls, followed by St. Petersburg with 65.11, and Kazan with 57.24. The city with the lowest number was Omsk with 39.14.

            But in individual rankings, many regional cities ranked above Moscow.  With regard to the status the creative class enjoys, St. Petersburg was first, Tyumen second, and Chelyabinsk third. Moscow came in only fourth. And as far as the educational milieu is concerned, Moscow did not rank even among the top ten. Among those ahead of it were Vladivostok, Kazan, Tyumen, Voronezh, and Yekaterinburg.

            Moscow ranked highest as a brand but St.Petersburg was rated as providing the greatest level of support to creative companies and individuals. As far as online interaction between the political authorities and the creative class is concerned, Kazan, Tyumen and Krasnodar were the top three.