ABSTRACT
Russia has a long history but initially it became a powerful empire under Peter I the Great. Access to knowledge and innovation infrastructure provides resources for individual self-development, small and medium enterprises innovation activities and the national innovation-driven economic growth. One of the most important factors of the human resources efficiency is rapid learning and capability to adapt quickly to changes on the labour markets vis-a-vis global trends. India and Russia perform inequality levels comparable with Japan, Israel, and some European economies. The analysis shows that the inequality growth in Russia was an effect of transition from the socialist economic model to the free market economy in the early 1990s. It was also the time of crucial decline in the households’ income. The cross-regional comparison shows a significant inequality in income per capita, business activity and economic productivity. The financial flows are concentrated just in a few key regions and cities, causing severe inequality.
