State Industrial Policy in Russia: The Nanotechnology Industry

Like all the other most significant economic powers, Russia has expressed a desire to become a world leader in the nanotechnology industry. Nanotechnology has been elevated to this level because important Russian policy makers want to effect a wider modernization of the Russian economy. The article examines attempts at employing modern industrial policy tools and asks about outcomes and possible significant barriers likely to hamper efforts at transforming Russia into an important player in the emerging global nanotechnology industry. The success or otherwise of Russia's nanotechnology policy is considered as part of a wider desire for economic modernization that makes this policy so important to the Russian government.