Research of Structural Changes in the Northwestern Economic Region in the Medium Term

–The article is intended to research the development of changes in the structure of homogeneous industries with the aim of creating an optimal structure of the national economy using relative competitive advantages and capable of innovative transformations. The technique of bringing two qualitatively heterogeneous classifications of sectors – OKVED-1 (2007) and OKVED-2 (2018) – to a comparable form is described and the author's approach to the sectoral structure has been formed. The trend analysis and comparative method were used to predetermine the main directions of the development of sectors (and the dynamics were identified) of the Northwestern economic region (except for the federal city of St. Petersburg) and also the basic sectors were identified: manufacturing industries, transport and communication, trade and servicing of durable goods, construction – by using the resources of which, it is possible to overcome the industrial-agrarian nature of the dynamics and contribute to the innovative development of the tertiary sector, which will predetermine the stability of the national economy due to the adjustment of the growth dynamics of homogeneous industries in order to overcome the consequences of socio-economic instability and the depressive tone of the development of Leningrad, Novgorod, and the Pskov oblasts. The need for continued structural adjustment for the future development of the region as a highly developed one is established. The active involvement of public authorities in the restructuring of the region will also allow changing the image of the region at the Russian and international levels. Keywords––basic sectors of the economy, the Northwestern economic region, comparability of economic activity types, structural changes in the national economy, trend analysis of sectoral dynamics, sustainable development of the region