Developing Sphere of Culture in Russia: Analysis and Forecast

In the current economic conditions the sphere of culture is becoming an important structural component of national economy that ensures upbringing of citizens and therefore the growth of labour potential in the country. The goal of the research is to work out a forecast of developing structural components of the sphere of culture in today’s conditions on the basis of regressive analysis method. By results of the research the author came to the conclusion that the number of professional theatres in Russia in 2000-2019 increased considerably and their visitation stepped up too. Due to adverse consequences of the corona virus infection in 2020–2022 the number of theater visitors dropped. On the basis of forecast models we can assume that the number of professional theaters and their visiting will rise in the short-term period, however, the increase rate will be lower in comparison with the previous time. At the same time it should be pointed out that in 2000–2022 a real museum boom took place in Russia: the number of museum institutions grew by 50% and museum visiting – by 66%. According to the presented models, in the medium-term run this trend will continue. The rise in people interest in visiting museum institutions shall be taken into account by regional and municipal bodies of power in elaboration of strategies for tourist potential development in territorial entities. As for libraries, in the medium-term run their number will drop, which can be explained by the wide use of digital information carriers and transformation of library role in today’s culture.