The report presents featured results of the project “Assessment of the Covid-19 Pandemic Impact on the Sectors of Russia’s Economy and the Post-Crisis Development”, which was jointly implemented by HSE University and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP). The project was implemented from July 2020 until May 2021 thanks to the joint efforts of the following three institutions: the Institute for Industrial and Market Studies, the Centre for Industrial Policy Studies, and the Development Centre Institute. The analysis was based on micro-level data (in-depth interviews), macro- and sectoral statistics. In turn, the report focuses on the structural features of a number of sectors of Russia’s economy, in particular, the automotive industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and trade, as well as the particular aspects of their organization and problems in their development. Furthermore, trends in post-crisis development were assessed with respect to the impact of the crisis on companies, as well as inconsistencies in the impact of the crisis on economic development have been discussed. In regards to economic policy, the report offers conclusions and suggests possible options for the development of applicable regulations. In conclusion, the author briefly discusses the methodological approach to respective industry cases, as well as the conditions and limitations for their application.

Antitrust is a field of economic policy whereby the protection of competition is conceptually different from economic regulation. However, the relationship between the goals of antitrust and the criteria for its achievement features prerequisites for the substitution of related concepts and crawling economic regulation. The absence of reliable barriers (e.g., terms of usual standards of economic analysis) results in the emergence of “chimeras”, which are unusual and inexplicable in terms of the theory of market organization in terms of the antimonopoly body’s influence on economic processes. The characteristics of the Russian antitrust policy are demonstrated by citing the example applicable collective dominance standards and approaches to regulations for bilateral monopolies. The characteristics of competing approaches in economic discourse, i.e. Pigouvianism, Coaseanism, and liberal fundamentalism, are described in order to address issues dealing with the sufficiency of grounds for introducing, strengthening or eliminating state regulation. The prospects for promoting Pigouvianism and Coaseanism with respect to political decision-making in the context of values, contemplating compensatory transactions and the balance of supply and demand have been analyzed.