Barriers to Modernization and the Degree of Coherence of Its Main Components in a Macro-Region of the Russian Federation

The author considers the issue regarding modernization change in the set of economic, social and cultural transformations. The paper looks into the essence of modernization, its importance to man and society, and the problems of its implementation in Russia and regions. In the framework of various modernization doctrines quite a few theoretical-methodological concepts were designed to explain possible aspects of social development. The purpose of this study is to assess the degree of coherence among the economic, social, and cognitive components of the modernization process in the macro-region of the Russian Federation. The study has the following tasks: to review the data on evolutionary processes of modernization, obtained by the author in the framework of the program “Problems of sociocultural evolution of Russia and its regions” (supervisor – RAS Corresponding Member N.I. Lapin); to consider methods for measuring modernization and analyzing its components; to assess the consistency of these components in regions of the Northwestern Federal District (NWFD) in 2000–2012. A study of quantitative estimation of integrated modernization as the relative gap between the level of modernization in different areas and the high global standard has shown the unevenness of its development in constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The study has revealed positive dynamics of growth of the integrated index of modernization and its balance, which is undoubtedly a positive aspect. Due to a different level and different opportunities for development, regions will need different time to implement each stage of modernization. Apparently, it is expedient to carry out a moderately balanced development of all territories. The emergence of the information economy, based on knowledge and new industrialization makes it necessary to promote productivity growth in respective industries, to increase the proportion of people engaged in intellectual work and, most importantly, to increase the contribution of knowledge and innovation in economic growth. To fulfill this challenging task, it is necessary to pursue a science-based modernization policy, to form and adjust the strategy for its implementation timel