1990s
Working in a Team of Reformers
In the 1990s, the world's attention was focused on a team of young Russian economists, who took up a program of radical market transformations. Several dozens of 30 - 40-year-old professionals took on the massive task of building a modern market system out of a centrally planned economy. This team of reformers, of which I was a member, walked an unbeaten path, and that fueled our enthusiasm and desire to find the best solutions. The already gargantuan task was further complicated by the fact that Russia's economy was in a state of crisis at the beginning of the market reforms of the 1990s. We created new market institutions, a public finance system, and a banking system, while every day having to struggle for the survival of the economy in manual mode.
In terms of commitment, encouragement, and degree of involvement in joint efforts, the activities carried out by the young reformers were comparable to the Soviet atomic project. Things were happening so fast that we did not even have time to understand how drastically our efforts would change the economy and the history of our country.
In terms of commitment, encouragement, and degree of involvement in joint efforts, the activities carried out by the young reformers were comparable to the Soviet atomic project. Things were happening so fast that we did not even have time to understand how drastically our efforts would change the economy and the history of our country.
2000s
Science and Innovations
In 2003, I defended my doctoral thesis based on the results of my work in the Ministry of Finance. And, in 2007, I strongly supported the initiative of the Institute for Financial Studies aimed at partnering with the Department of Economics at Pennsylvania State University.
This partnership led to the installment of two research centers at Pennsylvania State University that are still operating today: the Center for the Study of Auctions, Procurements, and Competition Policy (CAPCP) and the Center for Research on International Financial and Energy Security (CRIFES). The result was a comprehensive collaboration of two research institutes: Pennsylvania State University faculty and students took advantage of the scientific and practical experience of the IFS team, while the latter, in turn, gained useful information about scientific achievements from its American colleagues.
The CAPCP studied auctions held in the Russian Federation to allocate subsoil areas. In particular, the Center focused on real mechanisms of collusion and the choice between a price auction and a tender. The relevance of this topic was confirmed by the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics being awarded to American economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for their studies in auction theory.
The main area of collaboration with the CRIFES was energy economics: energy security, gas market, and behavior of oil prices. The launch of the research center coincided with a period of aggressive growth in oil prices, which was perceived as a threat to stability. Together with the team of American researchers, we studied the fundamental factors of the growth, relying on resource economics. Today, major studies in this area are being conducted by my long-time friend and partner Barry W. Ickes, Professor of Economics at Pennsylvania State University.
Further still, as a result of this collaboration, I was offered the teaching position of Visiting Senior Scholar for six years (2008-2014), in the capacity of which, I held seminars for postgraduate and master students on topics related to the redistribution of economic resources.
This partnership led to the installment of two research centers at Pennsylvania State University that are still operating today: the Center for the Study of Auctions, Procurements, and Competition Policy (CAPCP) and the Center for Research on International Financial and Energy Security (CRIFES). The result was a comprehensive collaboration of two research institutes: Pennsylvania State University faculty and students took advantage of the scientific and practical experience of the IFS team, while the latter, in turn, gained useful information about scientific achievements from its American colleagues.
The CAPCP studied auctions held in the Russian Federation to allocate subsoil areas. In particular, the Center focused on real mechanisms of collusion and the choice between a price auction and a tender. The relevance of this topic was confirmed by the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics being awarded to American economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for their studies in auction theory.
The main area of collaboration with the CRIFES was energy economics: energy security, gas market, and behavior of oil prices. The launch of the research center coincided with a period of aggressive growth in oil prices, which was perceived as a threat to stability. Together with the team of American researchers, we studied the fundamental factors of the growth, relying on resource economics. Today, major studies in this area are being conducted by my long-time friend and partner Barry W. Ickes, Professor of Economics at Pennsylvania State University.
Further still, as a result of this collaboration, I was offered the teaching position of Visiting Senior Scholar for six years (2008-2014), in the capacity of which, I held seminars for postgraduate and master students on topics related to the redistribution of economic resources.
2010s
Superconductor into the Future
The development and evolvement of the SuperOx innovative technology company was of utmost importance to me. In little more than 10 years, my team and I made a quantum leap: we worked our way from small tests in labs to industrially manufacturing superconducting tapes, structuring the sales system, and selling the first large orders for devices based on such tapes.
SuperOx was founded in 2006. The company received its first commercial order in 2011 and became fully profitable in 2017. Today, we implement large-scale projects and supply our products to 22 countries. In 2019, we installed a superconducting current limiter at the Mnevniki substation in Moscow. Units like these are unmatched in terms of their capacity to improve the reliability of big-city power grids by efficiently handling the problem of short-circuit faults. The installation of the superconducting current limiter in Moscow will allow the city to save almost RUB 150 billion in the medium-term perspective. Today, SuperOx is designing several other similar current limiters for Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
SuperOx was founded in 2006. The company received its first commercial order in 2011 and became fully profitable in 2017. Today, we implement large-scale projects and supply our products to 22 countries. In 2019, we installed a superconducting current limiter at the Mnevniki substation in Moscow. Units like these are unmatched in terms of their capacity to improve the reliability of big-city power grids by efficiently handling the problem of short-circuit faults. The installation of the superconducting current limiter in Moscow will allow the city to save almost RUB 150 billion in the medium-term perspective. Today, SuperOx is designing several other similar current limiters for Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
News
Contacts