The synthesis and systematization of the literature on the history of modern economic reform, accumulated over more than twenty years, allow us to streamline the existing ideas about the processes occurring in the framework of transformations and to set a new vector for comprehending the socio-economic development of Russia in the last decade of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st century. A step in this direction is the analysis of publications reflecting the preparation, progress and results of state and municipal property privatization in the 1990s. The historiographical review includes monographs and articles written by both the apologists of accelerated privatization, and their opponents and critics. The review of this literature reveals a range of opinions on the preferences for the denationalizing Russian economy, evaluation of the results of privatization by the end of the 1990s, and the possibility of alternative ways to improve the efficiency of domestic enterprises. In particular, it is noted that the apologists of accelerated privatization (E. T. Gaidar, A. B. Chubais) focus on the quantitative indicators of State and municipal property transfer into private ownership. Critics of the Government’s privatization option prefer talking about qualitative implications of “property revolution”, including reducing the efficiency of privatized enterprises, falling living standards, deteriorating the legal status of employees. In the first part of the article, the author analyses the publications dedicated to the study of the foreign experience of privatization preceding the preparations for the reform of the property relations in Russia and to the evaluation of the process and results of the accelerated privatization from the position of Government supporters of the course of market reforms in the domestic economy.

The synthesis and systematization of the literature on the history of modern economic reform, accumulated over more than twenty years, allow us to streamline the existing ideas about the processes occurring in the framework of transformations and to set a new vector for comprehending the socio-economic development of Russia in the last decade of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st century. A step in this direction is the analysis of publications reflecting the preparation, progress and results of state and municipal property privatization in the 1990s. The historiographical review includes monographs and articles written by both the apologists of accelerated privatization, and their opponents and critics. The review of this literature reveals a range of opinions on the preferences for the denationalizing Russian economy, evaluation of the results of privatization by the end of the 1990s, and the possibility of alternative ways to improve the efficiency of domestic enterprises. In particular, it is noted that the apologists of accelerated privatization (E. T. Gaidar, A. B. Chubais) focus on the quantitative indicators of State and municipal property transfer into private ownership. Critics of the Government’s privatization option prefer talking about qualitative implications of “property revolution”, including reducing the efficiency of privatized enterprises, falling living standards, deteriorating the legal status of employees. In the first part of the article, the author analyses the publications dedicated to the study of the foreign experience of privatization preceding the preparations for the reform of the property relations in Russia and to the evaluation of the process and results of the accelerated privatization from the position of Government supporters of the course of market reforms in the domestic economy.

Indicative planning is a significant tool for regulating the processes of socio-economic development at the regional level. Among the indicators used in this regard, we highlight the indicators that reflect the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the human wellbeing. The aim of the study is to reveal the potential of indicative planning for analyzing and forecasting the dynamics of population income in a region. Our analysis is focused on the incomes of the population in regional scales. We consider the evolution of indicative planning. Moreover, we classify macroeconomic parameters reflecting different aspects of the dynamics of the regional population incomes according to different analytical blocks. In order to assess the relative importance of each indicator, we propose to evaluate them using three matrices: achieving objectives (how much indicators influence the achievement of main objectives); autonomy (how much indicators or processes ensure the stability of regional socio-economic system); regionality (to what degree they can be classified as internal factors of regional system). The authors substantiate a method of the construction of integral index including seven stages. Furthermore, we estimate the weights of the selected indicators according to the special criteria. The assessment has showed the influence of “big challenges” on the regional population incomes, on the integral index as well as on the block indexes. The proposed typology of macroeconomic parameters of the population income can be used to forecast the socio-economic development of regions within the framework of strategic planning. In addition, it can be applied by the authorities of the Russian Federation subjects for the indicative planning of economic and social policy. Moreover, it is useful when monitoring the dynamics of population income and other indicators reflecting the living standard of the inhabitants of a region.

Reflections on the features of Karl Marx’s creative method (1818–1883) are presented in the genre of intellectual history. In this framework, I analyse the influence of exogenous and endogenous factors on the research process, on the personality of the scientist as well as on the choice of the directions of scientific inquiry, etc. In this respect, the 200th anniversary of the scientist’s birth provides an excellent opportunity to consider various features of his scientific activity and how a variety of reasons influenced it. Along the description of K. Marx’s life, I revealed and characterized such peculiarities of his creative method as the interdisciplinary nature of research activity, thorough and comprehensive selection of material for analysis, the desire to prove each theoretical position in several ways, the ability to recognize the limitations of his capabilities, and the readiness to correct his position. However, K. Marx remained true to his two mottos. One of them is “De omnibus dubitandum”, which distinguished him as a scientist, since it is doubt that creates the need for the analysis of phenomena of the surrounding world. The other one, “Nihil humani a me alienum puto”, testified that K. Marx was an ordinary man with his weaknesses, shortcomings, etc. For example, he usually published only the first parts (volumes) of his iconic works. In general, K. Marx as a scientist and as a man managed to give an intellectual charm to the idea of a proletarian revolution. Moreover, Marxism is still in demand as a research area of social sciences.

The article focuses on comparing research approaches to analyzing the problem of territory’s economic security in three leading centers in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. In this case, research centers are seen not as scientific schools, but as analogues of foreign “Invisible colleges”. I found that Moscow economists employ global approach to economic security as they consider the problem on a variety of levels: from national one to the level of a certain enterprise. Each level demands developing its own set of indicators (including threshold ones). Saint-Petersburg researchers prefer a highly specialized approach focused on economic and legal analysis of criminal aspects of economic security’ threats. In the Urals regional approach prevails; however, territory’s economic security is assessed not only in general, but in the context of different fields (energy security, social and demographic security, and so on). Another characteristic of regional analysis of economic security’s aspects is extensive use of economic and mathematical modelling by Ural academic economists. Based on dialectic comparison of general and specific approaches, it is necessary to find a theoretical and methodological consensus in order to successfully study problems of territory’s economic security.