The Role of Knowledge Economy in Regional Economic Diversification in Russia

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the need and the possibility of diversification of the Russian regional economic system, including resources-extractive regions, in the form of a gradual transformational transition to the knowledge economy. The research is conducted on the basis of systematic approach. The work resulted in the selection of a new transformation model of the regional economic system, i.e. diversification based on the development of the knowledge economy, with the diversification index for this model being proposed. Besides, the positive impact of the level of development of the knowledge economy in the region on the diversification of its economic structure was proved and the increase in the level of diversification of the economy of the resource-extractive region with the development of the knowledge economy infrastructure was confirmed. The scope of practical application of the results is the development of regional socio-economic policy on the basis of the proposed approach to the diversification of the regional economic system in the process of its long-term transformation towards the establishment of the knowledge economy.