T his study evaluates the import dependence of Russian industrial firms and analyzes the 'switch' to using Russian products and technologies in the context of their availability and firms' interest in them. The main information source for the study was a survey of company executives conducted in September-October 2015. The obtained results suggest that in quantitative terms the import consumption levels for manufacturing industries in Russia are relatively small, especially compared with the corresponding levels of Western European countries. At the same time, about two thirds of the surveyed companies are significantly dependent on imports, primarily imports of machinery and equipment. The main reason for the use of imports is the absence of Russian analogues. If they are present, there are problems with the low quality of those Russian analogues and the fact that they are not in line with the client's technological requirements. In general, a higher level of import dependence is typical of high-tech and Keywords: import of products, technologies, and services; import dependence; import substitution; Russian industry; technological level of production; firms' behavior. successful companies, which means that these companies are the most vulnerable to any import restrictions.The current import dependency level does not satisfy many companies which forces them to try to reduce this dependency: mostly it takes the form of switching to national suppliers, slightly less often -import diversification. The Russian import substitution policy is associated with an attempt to revive, modernize or create the missing production elements in the national economy, i.e., it is essentially vertical. However, in the absence of close work with the horizontal measures, such as the development of certain critical technologies, the formation of new areas of knowledge and filling previously missing science competences, such a policy is characterized by a 'limited shelf life' , constant lag, with a focus primarily on the price competitiveness. All this generates an expansion of an economy that is highly sensitive to currency fluctuations. A proactive import substitution policy linked to new emerging markets is needed.

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This article will analyze the activity of state-owned companies and their place in the structure of market relations from the standpoint of contemporary approaches to the study of "state failure" and "market failure". It will also consider the implications of the systematic embedding of private property rights. In addition to considering the costs of the functions of state-owned companies, the authors address the actual experience of the Russian economy in the present day, the experience of forming state corporations and the risks associated with their operation. Particular attention will be paid to the inhibition of incentives to improve the general institutional environment and, conversely, to the increasing incidence of direct state intervention in matters that affect economic development. We will examine the various ways in which the growth of the public sector, de jure and de facto, reduces opportunities for implementing private property rights.

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This article considers the behaviour patterns of Russian firms before and during the financial crisis of 2008-09. To facilitate comparison, we define three main groups of actors at the firm level in the Russian economy - large, politically connected companies; medium-size firms that expanded in the 2000s with the help of administrative support, and successful medium-size firms driven by market factors. Many of the large companies practised highly risky financial policies and experienced a decrease in efficiency before the crisis, and the managers and owners of some Russian firms have been engaging in opportunistic behaviour during the crisis; the forms and causes of this behaviour are analysed here. We conclude by proposing some policy implications with emphasis on supporting successful medium-size firms driven by market factors.

The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical and applied preconditions and restrictions to the accelerated privatization and modernization of present governance model of state property in Russia. The authors consider comparative advantages and risks of the public sector, quantitative dynamics of the 2000s, groups interests as well as offer their vision for the «new privatization policy» frame and prospects.

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