Formation and development of clusters in the Russian regional agro-industrial complex

The article considers the cluster approach as an innovative technology for managing the regional economy of Russia. The results of the Russian and foreign scientists research in the cluster formation theory and practice are presented. The strategic model for innovative dairy cluster as a special form of relationships has been developed based on these scientific provisions. The basic principle is the innovative component of processing organizations of the regional dairy sub-complex together with consideration of socio-economic peculiarities of the Nizhny Novgorod region. This model turns to be very effective and can be used in designing the agro-industrial sector of the country’s economy at the regional level