The article considers Karl Marx, an outstanding thinker, who thanks to his knowledge of philosophy, history, and economics has managed to predict the stages and forms for economic, social and, substantially, spiritual development of peoples. His vision of the future is based on the thoughtful, real, and significant understanding of the economic activity of human society. Generally, the scientific community with rather deep and sincere respect paid attention to his ability to expect the future for centuries forward. This article is not just a tribute to the 200 anniversary since the birth of the genius. Now in the 21st century, K. Marx’s anniversary is, first of all, the recognition of his genius. Living now, we see the economic, social and spiritual development of humanity in the conditions of convergence of science, education, quality of life, human health, warm-heartedness and credibility in overcoming even small challenges. We strive for a careful attitude to nature, rational use of its gifts and natural wealth. Only in such harmony, the mankind will have a happy future.

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 deals with the logical and theoretical structure of K. Marx’s «Capital». In the «Theories of Surplus Value», there is the ascent from the concrete to the abstract in the history of economic thought. This ascent allowed to define the goods as a starting point for the political economy of the capitalist mode of production. But there is no direct way to the economic theory of Marx, whose subject is not the products labour activity, but the material production relations arising during these activities. While researching the goods, Marx uses the «power of abstraction», which allows separating «economic matter» from the «naturally tangible» material basis: use value, concrete labour, etc. An integral system of economic categories is based on the synthesis of natural historical thinking phenomena discovered by Aristotle; Hegel’s understanding of purposive activity; specific goals of social production, which are realized in property relations. K. Marx introduces into scientific knowledge the notion of economic progress as a change of social formations. He considers the significance of different models of the division of labour for determining the concept of value. In A. Smith’s model, the value is determined a posteriori, after market evaluation of the products or services produced. A unit of measurement is not working time in itself, but economic information on the effectiveness of its use, i.e. money. In the model of K. Marx, the value is determined a priori, in the form of labour costs in the physiological sense. Given a choice, the labour expended receives a marginal evaluation in the form of alternative costs (loss of profits). The meaning of the «absolute, universal law of capitalist accumulation» is identified as a causa finalis, which determines the value of the commodity labour, variable capital, surplus value. I conclude that the development of the dialectics of the topic and the focus of an economic study allows using the method of rational eclecticism if the corresponding material is subject to a subsequent dialectical-materialistic interpretation.

The article provides a scientific overview of the evolution of views on the capitalist development from Marx to our days through the prism of the need of social transformations, changes in the value, moral and ethical foundations of the modern capitalism. I consider the basic models of transition to the so-called «conscious» capitalism: stakeholder model, model of corporate social responsibility, model of democratization of property relations (the model of shared capitalism), and directly the model of «conscious» capitalism. The article highlights the relevance of transition from the primacy of proprietary thinking, the desire of owners to maximize shareholder value and increase their welfare to the stakeholder model, which takes into account the interests of a wide range of stakeholders. The trust can be appropriately considered as a condition for implementing the stakeholder model, which provides an opportunity for the development of civilized, socially-oriented relations in business and the economy as a whole. The model of corporate social responsibility contributes to the implementation of common values and its significance for a new stage in the evolution of capitalism. I compare the approaches to the democratization of property relations and shared capitalism on the example of foreign and Russian experience. I conclude that the introduction of the principles of conscious capitalism is not yet a generally accepted practice, which is explained in many ways by different levels of capitalist development. At the same time, the importance of influencing the business model of «conscious» capitalism forces modern capitalists to rethink market opportunities, to transform traditional capitalist values to the concept of common values and to use additional benefits to increase the sustainability of society.

The article analyses the differences in views between K. Marx and A.I. Herzen on the prospects of economic development of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The paper shows that K. Marx proved his views relying on the development of the industry, which had created conditions for the extension of the individualistic capitalist relations as well as for the appearance of the proletariat. A. I. Herzen paid more attention to the community relations, which gave to the Russian capitalism national specificity. A considerable part of the differences between the views of K. Marx and A. I. Herzen on the prospects of economic development of Russia is connected with their attitude towards the Russian rural community. Therefore, the article reveals their understanding of this phenomenon. K. Marx understood the community in connection with land ownership. However, A. I. Herzen attributed different social aspects to the community, as well as discussed communal self-government. For the first time, I define their mental perception of the opportunities of social transformations in Russia as one of the main differences in views between K. Marx and A.I. Herzen. K. Marx was shaped by the values of industrial and urban society. Therefore, he looked at the prospects of economic development of Russia through the materialistic understanding of history, and considered the proletariat as the driving force of transformations. A. I. Herzen’s way of thinking developed under the influence of the Russian mentality. As an artist and writer, he adhered to a figurative and intuitive, emotional type of thinking, which is closer to the rural life. He supported the change of a social regime, but considered that one should not destroy all the previous orders simply because they were old. He thought that it was necessary to understand the features of national mentality, and that the Russian collectivism was suitable for socialism more than the Western European individualism. I have proved that the differences of opinion between these two scientists are directly relevant to a challenge of choosing the road for the development of Russia in the 21st century. The collectivistic origins are to be considered, as well as the ideas of a social imprinting when forming the modern Russian capitalism. I have concluded that there were no serious differences in opinion between K. Marx and A. I. Herzen on the prospects of economic development of Russia in 19th century. There were certain divergences in views on understanding the Russian society. These divergences allow to see the beginning of essentially new approaches to the socio-economic development of modern Russia.

The purpose of the research consists in the quantitative evaluation of long-term macroeconomic, social, geopolitical effects from the realization of the project of the development of the railway network in Siberia and the Far East, including the building of high-speed rail. In the study, we applied the methods of mathematical simulation and forecasting. Calculations with the use of the developed mathematical models have shown that the implementation of this project will play a large role in the socioeconomic development of the country as well as in strengthening its geo-economic and geopolitical positions in the Asia-Pacific Region and in the world as a whole.

Over the past two years, Russia has become the world leader in grain exports and intends to maintain growth rates. The authors enter into polemics with scientists who estimate the export of grain as the success of the agrarian economy. The purpose of the study is to find arguments for proving that the current model of the food market formation is erroneous. This model is based on the export of grain in combination with the import of the food with high added value. Our hypothesis is that the export of grain abroad was the result of low demand in the domestic market, which is due to the structural deformation of agricultural production. The study is based on the works of scientists in foreign trade policy (D. Ricardo, F. List, B. Ulin, S. Witte, D. Mendeleev). Statistical data, include the period before the embargo on food (2012–2014) and after it (2015–2016). In the conditions of inflation, preference was given to the indicators of the physical volume of output. The situation on the food market is complicated by a decrease in consumer demand and a fall in real incomes of the population. The imposition of an embargo on food imports reoriented imports to other countries. We propose measures of state regulation of the agro-food market: the introduction of export duties on grain and export subsidies for products with high added value. The research results can be used to develop mechanisms for regional economic policy in the agro-food sector.

Education is critical to economic and social development and has an impact on individual’s future income. Education affects not only the potential ability of the individual to increase his or her future income, but can be considered as a source of socio-economic development of the region. This paper presents the results of the evaluation of the education contribution to the socio-economic development of Russian regions. The study was conducted both for the Russian Federation as a whole and for the Federal districts and regions of Russia. We have developed the methodology for calculating the potential contribution of education to the socio-economic development of Russian regions. We assumed that when graduates enter the labour market they contribute to the economic growth and the social activity. From 2005 to 2016, the authors have analysed contribution of the following types of education: secondary general education, basic vocational education, secondary vocational education and higher education. Furthermore, we have considered the contribution of higher education to the socio-economic development of the regions of Russia across types of targeted training and specializations to select a sample of ten territorial subjects of the Russian Federation. We came to the conclusion that the higher education is the main contributor to the socio-economic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The potential contribution of the general education system to the socioeconomic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation is due to the fact that it prepares pupils for the following education levels, but not for their entry to the labour market. The results of the research can be used to conduct a regular assessment of the impact of region’s education system to its social and economic development, as well as to optimize the regional structure of secondary and higher education.

The article emphasizes the relevance of the digital economy development as one of the most important directions of the fourth industrial revolution. It is significant for a breakthrough in science and technology, social and economic development. I prove that the industrial policy is a reliable instrument for supporting digital economy. The following factors define the priorities of industrial policy: the level of socio-economic development of the country, the existing model of economic development, an image of the country’s future. I consider the evolution of the industrial policy priorities in Russia. In current situation, the essentially new priority is the support of digital economy. I find that pro-active digital economy formulation and management in collaboration of all branches of the government as well as the development of digital economy together with sector programmes and programmes of innovative development, etc. are of great importance. I have suggested steps, which could make the Industry Development Fund to support the new priorities connected with digital economy development. Furthermore, I have developed proposals on adjusting provisions, which define the possibility to apply special investment contracts for stimulating the digital economy development. I have defined the main directions of staffing the digital economy. The article emphasizes that «digital transformation of the industry» radically changes the idea targets and subjects of industrial policy. So-called related industries, as the association of goods, individuals, and technologies within the industrial system, the structures based on such special type of business models as technological platforms and the human needs become a new targets of the industrial policy. During the fourth industrial revolution, a system of interaction between federal and regional authorities and various business associations as well as civil society institutions becomes the main subject of industrial policy. This predetermines a multi-actor character of the industrial policy. The requirements to leaders of the state and business structures have increased. Therefore, their responsibility for preventing negative social and ethical consequences of the implementation of new technology solutions.

The article analyzes the issues of food provision of the northern regions of Russia. The development of transport infrastructure is insufficient for the year-round delivery of perishable goods. A lack of research in this field is due to the fact that the transport system in these territories is mainly focused on the delivery of raw materials. The food security was estimated by food supply balances and population surveys. In this study, I use a conceptual model of food security. The food supply security was assessed using two groups of criteria: the availability of food supplies and access to them. The studies have shown that in the regions of the Far North of Russia, the supply of perishable food is insufficient, its assortment is limited, the quality is low at abovemarket prices. The development of the transport infrastructure is a leading factor that determines the food security in the northern regions. I propose to estimate the efficiency of transport delivery schemes considering the losses from their failures. The calculation of losses can prove that the used delivery schemes are not the most effective ones, and there is a need to develop other schemes of transportation. The comparative analysis of the used transport delivery takes into account the delivery time, the cost of transportation and the risks supply disruptions. This analysis has shown, that in the Far North, the delivery by rail to the Siberian rivers beds with subsequent transportation by river transport is the most demanded way of food supply. This delivery method incurs t